John Barkoski
| John Barkoski | |
|---|---|
| Died |
February 10, 1929 Imperial, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Murder |
| Residence | Tyre, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Miner |
John Barkoski (also spelled as John Barcoski, John Borkovski, and John Barkowsky) was a Pennsylvania miner beaten to death by the Pennsylvania’s Coal and Iron Police on February 9–10, 1929. His passing and subsequent acquittal of his murderers on the first-degree murder charges provoked public indignation, which eventually led to the end of Pennsylvania’s Coal and Iron Police system. In the words of the Chicago Tribune, "It was the fatal beating of John Barcoski, a miner in the Pittsburgh district several years ago, that hastened the end of "the system."[1] Researchers acknowledged the historical role of John Barcoski's slaying in the demise of Coal and Iron Police.[2][3][4]
History
John Barkoski had gone to his mother-in-law's home and there fell into the hands of two coal and iron policemen employed by the Pittsburgh Coal Company. Eyewitnesses said one of them had launched an unprovoked attack on Barkoski, who received a laceration of the left cheek, five or six head wounds, two broken ribs and a fractured nose. Later at police barracks over the course of four hours, according to trial testimony, a third officer beat Barkoski with a strap while he lay semiconscious on the floor, twisted his ears until the miner cried aloud, and twisted his broken nose until he lapsed again into unconsciousness. Then he beat Barkoski over the chest with a poker until the poker bent, straightened the implement and beat the man again. He stripped the miner to the waist in order to better use a strap and kicked Barkoski until the miner's body rolled over and over on the floor. The original attacker also beat Barkoski, kicked him, struck him over the head with knucklers, and slapped him on the arms and legs and neck with his blackjack. The next morning he was taken to a hospital where he died. A jury acquitted the three officers of murder.[5]
Later, two of the police responsible for his death were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and his widow was paid $13,500 by the Pittsburgh Coal Company as compensation.[6]
Honors
Cinema
Black Fury (1935)
Biography
Musmanno, Michael. Black Fury. Fountainhead Publishers. OCLC 1600729.
See also
References
- ↑ Coal and Iron Police abolished in Pennsylvania: Long reign marked by much violence, Chicago Tribune, June 16, 1935
- ↑ Klein, Philip Shriver, and Ari Arthur Hoogenboom. A History of Pennsylvania. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1973, p. 449.
- ↑ Sadler, Spencer J. Pennsylvania's Coal and Iron Police Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub, 2009, p. 109.
- ↑ Richard P. Mulcahy, University of Pittsburgh - Titusville. A Murder at the Police Barracks: The John Barcoski Slaying, 2015 Annual conference of the Appalachian Studies Association
- ↑ Butler, Frank (October 16, 1929). "Coal and Iron Justice". The Nation.
- ↑ O'Conner, Harvey (1933). Mellon's Millions: The Biography of a Fortune. The John Day company. p. 225. OCLC 634189.