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Title
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Trooper Tells Court Of Motley's Arrest
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Source Type
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Newspapers
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Author
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Travis Wolfe
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Publisher
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The Montgomery Advertiser
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Publication Place
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Montomgery, AL
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Publication Date
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04/11/1967
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Transcript
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Trooper Tells Court Of Motley's Arrest By TRAVIS WOLFE A state trooper testified Monday in a U.S. District Court here that he saw Harvey King Conner, former Elmore County deputy sheriff, beat Negro James Earl Motley, 27, over the with a "blackjack or slapjack." Conner went on trial on a charge that he violated Motley's civil rights last Nov. 20, near Wetumpka. Motley died later in the Elmore County Jail at Wetumpka. State Trooper Perry Conrad Stacks said he saw Conner, who was a law enforcement officer last November, strike Motley "very rapidly" across the head a number of times. He said the deputy sheriff used an object that looked like a blackjack or slapjack. The trooper defined a slapjack as an oblong leather weapon with a "weighted object in the end of it." He said a blackjack is a similar, but round weapon. Trooper Stacks said Motley's, "knees buckled, and he started sinking." Motley reached out to grab the deputy sheriff's shirt he said, and Conner began hitting the Negro again. Stacks said he "turned around, and continued on to the (patrol) car." Later, the trooper said he saw that Motley's head was bleeding. Stacks said he searched Motley and found an unopened pocketknife. The small knife was presented to the court as an exhibit. After the trial got under way in the afternoon, Judge Frank Johnson called for a brief recess when Justice Department attorney Frank Dunbar of Arlington, Va., keeled over onto the floor. A District Court official said Dunbar fainted "because of a low blood sugar count." Dunbar rested outside the courtroom as the trial resumed U. S. District Attorney Ben Hardeman took Dunbar's place. Trooper Stacks denied that any state highway patrolman had participated in the beating of Motley, a Montgomery construction worker. He said troopers did not hold Motley while he was being beaten. Stacks said he did not smell alcohol on the breaths of Motley or any of his companions that night. Motley had been riding in a car with five Negro companions—three women and two men—when they were stopped by Deputy Sheriff Conner on U.S. 231. Motley was arrested on charges of highway drunkenness, resisting arrest and interfering with an officer. Trooper Stacks said he heard Conner tell Motley something like: "I'll teach you to obey." The first witness, Reuben Clark, said he had been driving the car in which Motley was riding last November. He said Conner struck Motley, nick-named "Bronco," with a "brown" object. He said he did not know whether Motley had a reputation for drinking. If Conner is convicted of depriving Motley of "rights secured and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States," he could receive a year in prison and-or a fine of $1,000. The case is being heard by a jury of 11 white men and one Negro man. Proceedings resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The jurors were allowed to go home for the night after Judge Johnson advised them to restrain from acts which would prejudice their minds.
