The story behind this photo of VPD detectives that appeared in the Vancouver Daily World on January 25, 1924
Joe Ricci’s Vancouver:
One of my favourite characters in Sensational Vancouver is Detective Joe Ricci who joined the Vancouver Police Department in 1912. Joe was a kick-arse cop from the old school who didn’t get too hung up on legal niceties such as warrants or evidence, but would take to the doors of opium dens and gambling joints with axes, fists swinging and shooting first, asking questions later.
Most of the material that I used in that chapter came from Joe’s daughter Louise. Louise still lives in the house that Joe built in 1922 and has kept all her father’s memorabilia including boxes of newspaper clippings, photographs and letters.
The photo (above) was in one of those boxes, but unfortunately wasn’t dated or labeled. I recognized Joe holding the knives and his partner Donald Sinclair from a photo hanging in the Vancouver Police Museum, but I couldn’t identify the other men or find out what the story was behind the photo until this week.
Jason Vanderhill kindly sent me some clippings about Joe that originated from the long defunct Vancouver Daily World.
The clipping has the same photo taken from a different angle, but it’s clearly the same event and it ran with the quite wonderful caption: Officers Battle with Slayer of Seamen.
It turns out that on January 25, 1924, Ben Baba, a Maltese seaman had armed himself with two stiletto knives and gone on a rampage onboard the Pilar de Larringa murdering the captain and a crew member and injuring four others before police arrived to stop him.
Sergeant George McLaughlin shot Baba with the sawed-off shotgun that he’s proudly displaying in the photo (they called it a riot gun), and according to the story, Baba then slit his own throat.
The story doesn’t say what set him off.
For another photo mystery that was solved, see Women Police Officers on Patrol
Related:
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25 comments on “The story behind a 1924 Vancouver photograph”
Good detective work, Jason. I always wondered about this pic. I’d say it’s the exact same photo, just flipped horizontally for some reason.
thanks for the post Eve! Based on the principle that men’s jackets button left over right, I would say the newsroom flipped the negative for emphasis, to give the man with the gun first billing in the caption. Flipping a negative image for composition has always been a somewhat dubious editorial choice, as occasionally it can cause embarrassment, and today would probably be seem unprofessional. If you didn’t get the right angle, you didn’t shoot enough pictures. Back then with a view camera, you may have had only one shot.
Yes, I think you and Lani are quite right. Now I look at both photos closely it does seem to be a mirror image.
Nice to know. This photo already seems so familiar, and now we have the story.
Thanks James, nice to hear from you!
Reverse Imaging!! Love when a mystery gets solved!! Sleuth!!
Thanks Sandra, but had a bit of help and some serendipity!
So cool to hear the story behind this photo 🙂
Thanks Neil!
Good story. As a reporter at the Province I would go hide in the library and browse through the “crime cards” a rollodex of everyone who had been in the paper connected to a crime and then I would go pull the microfiches.
Thanks Greg. Wonder if they kept the crime cards. Would love to spend a day with them!
Hi
Love the history. My great uncle was Percy Alexander Easler and he was a Chief Inspector in the Vancouver Police Dept. Born 1912 so probably around the 1940s and onward.
Thanks for the read
Percy Easler is/was my grandfather… I’m his only sons daughter.
percy alexander never fathered any children, there is no children by percy easler,,,
Yes he did….one son! It’s a bit of a complicated story, feel free to email me 🙂
sarah, i do not have your email address,,,,,
Sarah – If you see this would you mind touching base. Percy was my 2nd cousin, twice removed. We have common ancestry back to New Brunswick and beyond. I’m not sure if you’ll be notified of this post or not … thanks – Tim
i know the story , uncle percy and uncle lloyd never father any children,,,, i know and met the boy that said he was uncle percys’ son, because money was the object,,,,, he was sent by his birth mom,,,, uncle percys’ ex wife,,,, the whole family knows this story,,,,, no children as both uncles’ could not father children,,,,,
Hi Sarah. I’m hoping you’ll get this! We are relatives of Percy’s wife, Dorothy M Goodnough and would love to get in touch.
Hi Sarah, If you’re a descendant of Dorothy Goodnough, I’d love to hear from you. Contact christinevanceg @ gmail.com. Thanks.
G’Day Eve,
A great read, my wife (Helen Milwain née Killeen) & I are just doing our family tree and the photo shows her grandfather detective John Edward Killeen. We will keep looking for more stories.
Regards
Rob & Helen
I love these connections!
Love the stories of old Vancouver
Thanks John!
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