The Poplar Bluff Police Department reported a rocky road to improvement in 1974. A new plainclothes unit and PR officer helped their public image after a much-publicized department inquiry, however, an officer has been fired for allegedly brawling and falsifying reports.
100 years ago
Aug. 9, 1924
• Local businesses and the Mo-Ark railway sponsored a death-defying show by Beeler Blevins Air Circus.
The Poplar Bluff Interstate American breathlessly reported the following tricks: “Looping the loop, varied rolling, flipping the plane over and over sideways, wing-overs; the falling leaf; Immelman turn, tail spins, drops of a mile and the double parachute leap from the moving plane and a second drop in a second parachute and wing walking and standing on the head.”
The latter three stunts were performed by Lawrence Blevins, who also sent crowds into a tizzy by swooping mere feet above Main Street’s buildings and buzzing the courthouse dome.
Blevins is also taking passengers in the air. Contrary to his daredevil solo flights, he refuses to scare ride-alongs since he is often their first introduction to flying. One elderly Ripley County man greatly enjoyed his flight and plans to go on another later today.
75 years ago
Aug. 9, 1949
• The Poplar Bluff Library hosted a gathering of doctors, nurses, and committee members yesterday evening. The topics were Poplar Bluff Hospital’s new polio ward and general treatment and prevention procedures.
The only things missing from the new isolation ward are a physiotherapist and a pediatrician, who’ll be assigned by the Butler County Infantile Paralysis Committee. A previous article stated Poplar Bluff’s first confirmed case, a young girl, will be the ward’s first occupant. Additionally, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis promised to cover families’ treatment expenses and payroll nurses to staff the ward.
A Massachusetts surgeon touring Missouri said it was a “delight” to go from overcrowded St. Louis and Cape Girardeau hospitals to find Poplar Bluff’s polio ward ready to go. The surgeon, Dr. David Grice, warned attendees to keep children away from swimming pools and crowded picnics. Once the polio reached the nervous system, he stressed there was no way to stop it from destroying nerve cells throughout the body.
50 years ago
Aug. 9, 1974
• In national news, former Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in after former President Richard Nixon’s resignation. Ford promised, “Our long national nightmare is over.”
• The Poplar Bluff Police Department is trying to improve its services and image in the wake of an investigation by the city council. At the same time, the last of the four officers who called for the investigation has been fired for disciplinary infractions.
Maj. Bill Pierce, acting chief, told the Daily American Republic he appointed a public relations officer and created a special plainclothes crime detail to curb drug trafficking, alcohol abuse, vandalism and littering. Three felony marijuana arrests were made in the week after its formation.
Meanwhile, Steven DePriest was dismissed from the department on July 31 after allegedly committing two serious infractions within 24 hours. He was one of four officers who reported the PBPD’s dysfunction to the city, claiming leadership ignored repeated complaints of officer misconduct. This investigation resulted in former Chief of Police Pierce and former Lt. Haywood Harris being demoted.
Two of the reporting officers, Eddie Crook and Larry Bacon, resigned during the inquiry because they felt the scope of the investigation was too narrow. Officer Bill Taylor left when he learned he and DePriest were being placed on unpaid leave for sharing details of the investigation with the media “without first exhausting all available remedies through the police chain of command.” He has since joined the Butler County Sheriff’s Department. DePriest was let go on July 31 after allegedly fighting an inmate and falsifying a report.
Pierce said on July 30, DePriest removed his badge and mace, then drew his gun on a belligerent drunken suspect in the jail. DePriest’s report stated he removed the badge so his uniform wouldn’t be torn in the scuffle, but a jail trustee told his superior officer the suspect had challenged DePriest to a fistfight. DePriest was reprimanded with a 10-day forfeiture of pay for the incident.
The next day DePriest requested he be allowed to leave mid-shift, and this was granted. However, Pierce reported he stayed until the regular end of his shift, filing four reports. One of them was found to be false. When questioned, DePriest said colleagues instructed him to pad out reports “to make it look good” when he first joined the department. He was fired.
Pierce and Haywood formally requested a city council hearing seeking reinstatement to their former ranks based on departmental and personal accomplishments since the initial inquiry.