.ODU1MA.ODU1MA

September 19, 1966 Mayor Ivan Allen City Hall Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Dear Mayor Allen: After reading the article in the Atlanta Journal on Tuesday, September 13 concerning the policeman who was shot in the disturbance on Boulevard while attempting to help the two colored boys who had been wounded, I would appreciate the answer to a few questions that confront us all. Why was it seven days after the disturbance before the public was given the details of what happened to the officer? I am one hundred per cent for the reward of $10,000 that has been offered for the apprehension of the ones guilty of the murder of the young colored boy. This · is just and is as it should be. This was one of the worst crimes ever committed in our city. But why was there not a reward offered for the capture of the person or persons who wounded the policeman, and why was there no reward for the ones who injured the newspaper reporter, or the soldier who was critically hurt by a flying brick while traveling down Ponce de Leon on his way home on furlow? My father Henry A. Ward owned a small store at 208 Georgia Avenue directly across from Cheney Stadium. A few years ago he was murdered in cold blood at high noon on a clear sunny day while trying to earn an honest, meager, living. He was bludgeoned over the head by a robber in his store and the murderer was never even close to being apprehended. My question is this: Why was there no reward for this awful crime? If a reward had been offered maybe a few tongues in that neighborhood would have been loosened. My family never received even a letter of regret from the President of the United States, the Mayor's Office or any word on the lack of progress from Chief Jenkins' office. This does not seem consistent with the way othe r families have been treated in our city, or did my family just happen not to belong to a minority group? �Mayor Ivan Allen September 19, 1966 Page 2 I want to say Mr. Mayor that I admire your courage in dealing with the riots that have hit our city in recent weeks. Eve:r:y law-abiding citizen in our city should thank you for standing for what we all believe and trust as the democratic way of life. In closing, I would only say that as far as protection by the law is concerned it seems to me that we definitely lean toward a double standard. I hope this is not true in the majority of cases but has happened only in my experience. My sincere thanks for your time. Sincerely, Robert Ward 318 Lindbergh Drive, N. E. Atlanta, Georgia 30305 CC: Chief Herbert T. Jenkins �