July 28, 1961 - Scattered violence and milling crowds disrupted Harlem last night. A police riot call brought reinforcements to the troubled area. Eighty members of the Tactical Patrol Force were called to duty. In all, more than 200 policemen were patrolling the area. Garbage and pop bottles were hurled off tenement roofs onto policemen. Nine shop windows on 125th Street were broken. There was looting at several shops and several warning shots were fired during countless melees. One patrolman, Walter Billerbeck, 26, was hospitalized after being kicked in the spine while going to the aid of a fellow policeman. The police could give no specific cause for the unrest.
Comments