DARING FEAT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22961, 12 February 1938, Page 12

DARING FEAT

MAN ESCAPES RAID RISKED JUS LIFE CITY CROWD STARTLED 28 ARRESTS MADE ! Risking his life in an effort to evade arrest, a man fled blindly through a window from detectives who raided premises on the second floor of Queen's Arcade, City, last night. He crashed through a glass cover over the ornamental skylight that spans the arcade and then through the skylight itself, to hang by his hands 35ft. above horiified crowds. The man then threw himself backward and landed safely on the first floor balcony about 10ft. below, rerecovered his balance, and disappeared. The raiding party, led by DetectiveSergeant P. J. Nalder, arrested 28 men on gaming charges, after iorcing its way into the large.room formerly occupied by the Auckland Manufacturers' Association as the HalL of Industries. The men were later taken to the watch-house and charged before a justice.

Crash of Glass Late shopping crowds thronged both entrances to the arcade, and a large force of uniformed police was necessary to keep the public from entering. The departure of the arrested men in a police van, the Customs Street entrance, was watched by a crowd that extended almost across the road, blocking inward-bound traffic for a period. Crashing of glass, followed immediately by a louder crash as a section of the lcadlight that forms the ceiling of the arcade smashed on the concrete paving, startled pedestrians and shopkeepers in the arcade at about 8.30 o'clock. Fragments of glass rained down and people ii} the vicinity ran for shelter, somo taking refuge in shop doorways.

Eye-Witness' Account "I was at my desk writing when I heard a terrific crash," said Mr. P. D. Kenny, of the British Typewriter and Office Equipment Company, Limited, outside whoso premises a large piece of the leadlight fell. "I ran outside and heard another crash as I went. From the doorway I could see the legs and body of a man projecting through the skylight.

"As the man came thrngh the skylight, which gave under his weight, he managed to grasp the two sides of the steel frame, which saved him from falling 30ft. or more to the concrete. He looked round, seeming perfectly cool, and then started to swing like a man on a trapeze.

Swing to Safety

"Onlookers feared that he would fall and be injured or perhaps killed. I called out to him to hang on, and not to attempt to jump. The man looked clown and apparently realised for the first time how far he had to fall. He then started swinging again, and when ho had v gained enough impetus he hurled himself backward and over the railing of the first-floor balcony, well below him.

"Landing on his feet, the man recovered his balance. He then ran and disappeared."

Breaking their way through two firmly-secured doors, the detectives found 28 men in the room from which the first man had aprfcrently escaped The glass of a large window opening immediately above the skylight-cover was gone from the frame, and it is believed that the man leaped straight through when the alarm was given There was a. gaping hole in the sky-light-cover through which he had fallen, and about 2ft. below was tbo skylight along which he attempted to crawl. Sfcarch by Detectives Cracks and holes in the ornamental skylight, which is of the leadlight type, showed clearly. A few feet from the edge was a largo hole where the structure had given way completely, ami far below could bo Been the broken pieces on tho floor of the arcade.

A rapid search of the premises was made by the detectives. The party comprised Detective-Sergeant Nalder and Detectives Aplin, Turgis, Moore, Brown, Whillans and Waterson, who were later reinforced by a number of uniformed constables, under a sergeant. Tho names of the men found on the premises were taken, and a van was called.

Peep-hole Near Door

A small section of the wallboard had been cut away beside the door of tho premises, making a convenient peephole through which callers could be inspected. The principal furnishings were a billiard table and a number of forms and chairs. Some of the forms, round the table, were overturned. Detectives seurched thoroughly for gaming materials. They examined every corner of tho room, and also inspected the Queen Street verandahs immediately below tho open windows, for any articles that' might have been thrown out.

Three trips were made by the police van before the 28 men arrested had all been taken to the watch-house. Taking advantage of the temporary forbidding of tho public to use the arcade, cleaners quickly removed the broken glass from tho floor, which was clear by the time the last load of men had been taken away, and the police allowed the large crowds at both entrances to enter the arcade.