We met Walter Sterling previously in an earlier story. He was the police officer on the beat who responded to the Silverman’s Pawn Shop for a report of a purloined bear skin. Sterling first became a member of the force in 1890, and it appears from old city reports back then that officers were appointed by the vote of the city council, one person from each ward. In 1894, we find Sterling listed as a “watchman” from Ward 2, presumably meaning he worked the night-time hours.

Sterling appears to have been a popular figure. In May 1891, some friends presented him with a 10-karat gold police badge to mark his appointment to the police department. He appears as the subject of a humorous Foster’s Daily Democrat newspaper article from 1895, headed “Arresting a bicycle” (which article appeared as a reprint in the Fall River Daily Evening News!). According to the story, Sterling observed what appeared to be an abandoned bicycle, and after three hours, “the officer run it in for being out after proper and becoming hours….”

He appears again in the news in June 1906 as being one of the officers involved in the pursuit of one Michael Cummings, who had “walked away” from the Strafford County Jail in Dover, noted in the report as one of five inmates to have escaped from the uniquely designed and supposedly escape-proof rotary jail building, located at the time adjacent to Dover’s current waterfront development.

But things changed for Sterling over the next two years, and on the early morning of August 23, 1908, he became the victim of a shooting at the hands of his son-in-law, in the rear of the family home at 133 Portland Ave.

By that time, Sterling was a widower. His adopted daughter had married John Edward Dame. Both families had lived close by, the Dames at 78 Portland Ave., the Sterlings at 133 Portland Ave. John Edward’s father, John Samuel, had been Dover’s Fire Chief for a time, and both he and his son had served on the City Council. John Edward was employed as a machinist. At the time of our story, Walter, his daughter, and son-in-law all lived on the second floor at 133 Portland Ave.

Dame’s version of the event was that he was awakened by the noise of someone hammering. Getting up to investigate, he found Sterling nailing shut some closet doors. Dame objected to having some clothing and other personal items stored in that space. Sterling then turned on him and, with an oath, threatened to kill Dame, advancing toward him brandishing a broom. At that, Dame said he drew a revolver and fired a warning shot in the direction of the ceiling. Sterling continued to advance in a threatening manner, according to Dame, and a second shot directed at Sterling struck him in the chest, causing instant death.

Despite the hour, the confrontation caught the attention of several others. Two neighbors, Loring Worster and Branche McKay, later testified that they had been awakened, close to 4:15 a.m., one to the sound of breaking glass, and both heard two gunshots. Mrs. Dame’s story differed slightly. She stated she had been awakened and heard the threats made by her father. She claimed she had gone to an open window and called for help, then tried to contact a neighbor, and then heard a gunshot. Dame never denied that he had fired the fatal bullet. When the first police officer appeared on the scene, he found Dame outside the home. He immediately handed the officer the revolver, stating, “Walter tried to do me up and I got the best of him.” To another officer, Thomas Fody, Dame said that Sterling had attacked him “like a bull” and that he had only fired in self-defense.

John Dame was arrested and taken into custody. He appeared that afternoon in Dover District Court for formal arraignment. News of the shooting spread quickly, and Foster’s reported “overflow spectators” for the brief appearance. A plea of not guilty was entered, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for later that week. At that time, the first officer on the scene, Officer Scanlon, testified, as did the medical examiner, who described the cause of death as a bullet to the heart. Dame was ordered to be held without bail, and the case was forwarded to the Superior Court.

(to be continued)