Patrolman Robert Cambias was killed when his throat was cut on Allen Street.
While responding to a disturbance on Allen Street where a 20 year old male was assaulted by someone with a knife, officer Cambias and three other officers entered a house that was the meeting place for a group of activists called the Council of God.
The meeting was attended by approximately 20 men. The officers approached with revolvers drawn and asked for the perpetrator of the assault to step forward. The lights went out and gunfire ensued. Officer Cambias was overpowered by three men who dragged him outside to the side walk where his throat was slashed. Officer Ernest Wenck was stabbed, Sargent Joseph Wheatley and Corporal James Dunn both received gunshot wounds but the three officers were able to safely escape the building.
Neighbors who saw the injured officers and the dying policeman on the sidewalk called for additional police support. When reinforcements arrived the house was surrounded. The standoff lasted for about three hours until finally 10 people were taken into custody and transported to jail. Officer Cambias died on the sidewalk where he fell. The other three office recovered from their injuries.
Three suspects were held for the slaying of officer Cambias. One died in jail from lockjaw after refusing treatment for a gunshot wound to his right foot. The other two went to trial and were convicted of murder. They were both hanged on October 23, 1908.
Officer Cambias had served with the agency for less than a year.
