[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 11 (Wednesday, February 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E105-E106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING JAMES GRIFFIN, JOHN MERCADO AND VERNON MICHEL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 9, 2000

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor three heroes from my 
district: James Griffin, John Mercado, and Vernon Michel. Recently, Mr. 
Mercado and Mr. Griffin were presented with a Medal of Valor from the 
Saint

[[Page E106]]

Paul police department; Gertrude Michel, the widow of Mr. Michel, 
accepted the award on his behalf.
  Fifty years ago, these three police officers selflessly risked their 
lives in pursuit of a man who had robbed a liquor store, and in the 
process fatally shot one of their colleagues and wounded another. The 
suspect ran into a deserted building. After the building had been tear-
gassed, Mr. Griffin, Mr. Mercado and Mr. Michel volunteered to go 
inside to apprehend him.
  It has been said that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather 
the judgment that something else is more important than fear. I applaud 
these men for their willingness to put their fear aside, to risk their 
own lives to protect the lives of others. Although this event took 
place fifty years ago, their courageous actions serve as an inspiration 
to those serving in the police force today.
  I have included, for my colleague's review, an article from the 
December 16, 1999 edition of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, which 
describes the heroic actions of these three men.

                        Honors for Police Heroes

                            (By Amy Mayron)

 St. Paul police award the department's highest commendation to three 
 officers for their bravery 50 years ago. ``Good work should never go 
                 unrecognized,'' says the police chief.

       Fifty years ago, three St. Paul police officers volunteered 
     to storm a dark, tear-gas-filled house to find a man who had 
     robbed a liquor store and fatally shot another police 
     officer.
       On Wednesday, the three were honored for that act with the 
     department's Medal of Valor.
       James Giffin, 82, and John Mercado, 77, who both retired in 
     1983, received the medal at an awards luncheon in St. Paul. 
     The widow of Vernon Michel, who retired in 1978 and died in 
     1982, accepted the award for her husband.
       Only 28 officers have received the department's Medal of 
     Valor since its inception in 1965. The last medal was given 
     in 1997. Last summer, Police Chief William Finney and people 
     inside and outside the police department began talking about 
     honoring the three officers for their heroism in 1949.
       Finney, who grew up in St. Paul and followed a family 
     legacy into the police force, knew the three officers 
     throughout most of his life.
       ``Good work should never go unrecognized,'' Finney said. 
     ``Time shouldn't matter when good work is done. It's a minor 
     thing that we let 50 years pass.''
       On the afternoon of Sept. 10, 1949, Oliver Crutcher of St. 
     Paul robbed a liquor store at 365 University Ave. He ran from 
     the store with police not far behind, and gunshots were 
     exchanged. No one was injured, and the robber got away.
       But at about 7 p.m. that day, police received a tip that 
     Crutcher was hiding in a house at 324 St. Anthony Ave. Police 
     surrounded the building, and the suspect ran from the house 
     firing gunshots, killing Detective Allen Lee, 38, and 
     wounding another officer.
       Police searched the neighborhood, often kicking in the 
     doors of residences. At about 10 p.m., they got a tip that 
     Crutcher was hiding in a building on Rondo Avenue, where 
     Interstate 94 now runs. By that point in the manhunt, nearly 
     3,000 people had crowded the scene, upset about the police 
     raids being conducted while looking for the suspect.
       After tear-gassing the building, Griffin, Michel and 
     Mercado volunteered to go inside to flush out the suspect. 
     They went in shooting, and by the time they got to the 
     suspect, several other officers had joined them.
       Crutcher died of 12 gunshot wounds.
       On Wednesday, Mercado, Griffin and Michel's widow, Gertrude 
     Michel, smiled as Finney presented them with medals and a 
     plaque. Michel and Mercado humbly accepted the awards and 
     quietly thanked everyone at the luncheon.
       Griffin, who retired as deputy police chief, thanked his 
     family for supporting him throughout his career and then 
     briefly talked about what it was like to be a rookie cop in 
     the 1950s and the first African-American officer to join the 
     department.
       ``I don't know what to say. I'm overwhelmed,'' he said. 
     ``When I joined the department, I never thought I'd be 
     standing here today.''

                          ____________________