One Friday afternoon 50 years ago cops spotted a suspicious-looking car near St. Lawrence and Jarry. The driver declined to pull over, so they chased him. He leaped out of the vehicle and tried to escape through a random house.So the officer shot him in the leg. He kept going in spite of his wound so the cop shot him in the legs two more times. He was listed as being in serious condition.
Cops were involved in several other chases on that same day, Oct. 18, 1963.
One ended at Lajeunesse and Jarry, another at Peel and William, another at Delorimier and Notre Dame and another when the fleeing vehicle was wrapped around a pole at Marquette and St. Joseph.
And lastly, a kid named Robert Waldteufel tried to rob a taxi but the driver pulled the gun from his hand and fired at him as he fled.
So yeah. Car chases. Gunfights. Montreal in the early sixties. Nothing but fun.
So what happened? How did this town go from being a gangster haven to being what must be the safest big city on the continent? Nothing I have seen since I have lived here indicates that the politicians often come up with incredibly effective genius ideas.
ReplyDeleteFor one thing, it took way too long for the banks to change their procedures so that large sums of cash are no longer quickly accessible from a teller by holdup criminals.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, videocams have discouraged many petty crooks and vandals from breaking the law, although clearly, drunks often forget that they are being monitored.