DelC
08-24-2001, 09:12
AUGUST 21, 22:57 EDT
NEW YORK (AP) A city marshal was beaten to death and set on fire Tuesday, apparently by a family he was trying to serve with an eviction notice, police said.
A woman, her boyfriend and her son were in the apartment when the marshal was killed, police said. They were being interviewed by detectives. No charges had been filed.
Erskine Bryce, 66, was found dead in the apartment, severely burned, police said. He had cuts and evidence of blunt trauma to his head and wrists.
He was savagely beaten, shoved down a flight of stairs, splashed with gasoline and set on fire after he tried to evict the occupants of an apartment in Brooklyn.
His body, scorched and curled up in a fetal position, was found on the floor of a downstairs vestibule. An open can of gasoline and Bryce's pistol, unfired, lay near the body.
City marshals generally are armed and work alone but can summon police help if they feel it's needed. Bryce had not called for help, police said. His gun was found at the scene.
``I think it's sick,'' police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said. ``It's a despicable crime.''
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On Wednesday, authorities charged JoAnne Jones, 53, who lived in the apartment, with second-degree murder in what Mayor Rudolph Giuliani called a ``horrendous and horrific'' crime.
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By RICHARD PYLE - Associated Press Writer - AUGUST 23, 01:36 EDT
NEW YORK (AP) They toil anonymously in the dangerous shadows of law enforcement serving subpoenas and eviction notices, collecting monetary judgments, towing away the cars of parking scofflaws.
In New York City they are called marshals; in other states, they operate under other names. Rarely, except perhaps on the block where it happens, does their work attract attention. Nobody writes television shows about this kind of Law and Order.
Bryce, 66, is the second member of the New York City's marshals bureau to be killed in the line of duty since the agency was founded 47 years ago.
Freeman Mason, 55, was fatally shot on March 13, 1984, also while trying to serve an eviction notice, just 12 blocks from the scene of Tuesday's incident. His body was found days later in a vacant lot several miles away. A body shop owner was charged with his murder.
``Every situation a marshal goes to is a potentially explosive, hazardous situation. Evicting someone, taking their car that's like life's last straw,'' said Kenny Kelly, executive director of the city Marshals Association.
Despite the risks of showing up on a doorstep with a badge or court order, incidents of violence against city marshals are still rare, Kelly said. A gift for communication is essential.
``It's always dealing with people who are not happy to see you,'' Kelly said. ``You have to let people know who you are, and what you're doing. You have to tell them, The car's going. We don't back down. But it's not the end of the world. You have to be firm, fair and street-smart.''
New York has 41 city marshals. Appointed by the mayor to five-year terms, they earn fees set by statute for carrying out orders from civil and state supreme courts, city agencies and private attorneys.
The work is hard, as much as 16 hours a day, six days a week but with good legal or community contacts, a marshal ``can earn in the six figures,'' said Kelly. ``There are people waiting 15 years to get on that list.''
The only requirements to become a marshal are passing the civil service exam and a marshals' board of review. The city bureau has ``a great, diverse group of people:'' ex-cops, lawyers, a couple of Ph.Ds, Kelly said.
Among the city's five women marshals, the star is 70-plus Ruth Burko, who was appointed by former Mayor John Lindsay in the 1960s and still works at her specialty towing cars for unpaid parking tickets.
``She could talk Saddam Hussein out of his tank if he owed parking tickets,'' Kelly said.
Bryce, who has a son in the New York City police department and a daughter who is a Postal Service police officer at Kennedy International Airport, was known for his ability to deal with tricky situations.
Born in Barbados, Bryce grew up in Trinidad where he was an avid cricket player. He moved to the United States in the 1960s, as did many of his neighbors from the West Indies.
``He had a quick wit and loved to tell jokes,'' said Andy Thomas, who grew up with Bryce in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and was his neighbor in Brooklyn for more than 40 years.
Bryce had just returned to work Monday after a vacation in Greece and was engaged to be married in November.
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NEW YORK (AP) A city marshal was beaten to death and set on fire Tuesday, apparently by a family he was trying to serve with an eviction notice, police said.
A woman, her boyfriend and her son were in the apartment when the marshal was killed, police said. They were being interviewed by detectives. No charges had been filed.
Erskine Bryce, 66, was found dead in the apartment, severely burned, police said. He had cuts and evidence of blunt trauma to his head and wrists.
He was savagely beaten, shoved down a flight of stairs, splashed with gasoline and set on fire after he tried to evict the occupants of an apartment in Brooklyn.
His body, scorched and curled up in a fetal position, was found on the floor of a downstairs vestibule. An open can of gasoline and Bryce's pistol, unfired, lay near the body.
City marshals generally are armed and work alone but can summon police help if they feel it's needed. Bryce had not called for help, police said. His gun was found at the scene.
``I think it's sick,'' police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said. ``It's a despicable crime.''
---------------
On Wednesday, authorities charged JoAnne Jones, 53, who lived in the apartment, with second-degree murder in what Mayor Rudolph Giuliani called a ``horrendous and horrific'' crime.
---------------
By RICHARD PYLE - Associated Press Writer - AUGUST 23, 01:36 EDT
NEW YORK (AP) They toil anonymously in the dangerous shadows of law enforcement serving subpoenas and eviction notices, collecting monetary judgments, towing away the cars of parking scofflaws.
In New York City they are called marshals; in other states, they operate under other names. Rarely, except perhaps on the block where it happens, does their work attract attention. Nobody writes television shows about this kind of Law and Order.
Bryce, 66, is the second member of the New York City's marshals bureau to be killed in the line of duty since the agency was founded 47 years ago.
Freeman Mason, 55, was fatally shot on March 13, 1984, also while trying to serve an eviction notice, just 12 blocks from the scene of Tuesday's incident. His body was found days later in a vacant lot several miles away. A body shop owner was charged with his murder.
``Every situation a marshal goes to is a potentially explosive, hazardous situation. Evicting someone, taking their car that's like life's last straw,'' said Kenny Kelly, executive director of the city Marshals Association.
Despite the risks of showing up on a doorstep with a badge or court order, incidents of violence against city marshals are still rare, Kelly said. A gift for communication is essential.
``It's always dealing with people who are not happy to see you,'' Kelly said. ``You have to let people know who you are, and what you're doing. You have to tell them, The car's going. We don't back down. But it's not the end of the world. You have to be firm, fair and street-smart.''
New York has 41 city marshals. Appointed by the mayor to five-year terms, they earn fees set by statute for carrying out orders from civil and state supreme courts, city agencies and private attorneys.
The work is hard, as much as 16 hours a day, six days a week but with good legal or community contacts, a marshal ``can earn in the six figures,'' said Kelly. ``There are people waiting 15 years to get on that list.''
The only requirements to become a marshal are passing the civil service exam and a marshals' board of review. The city bureau has ``a great, diverse group of people:'' ex-cops, lawyers, a couple of Ph.Ds, Kelly said.
Among the city's five women marshals, the star is 70-plus Ruth Burko, who was appointed by former Mayor John Lindsay in the 1960s and still works at her specialty towing cars for unpaid parking tickets.
``She could talk Saddam Hussein out of his tank if he owed parking tickets,'' Kelly said.
Bryce, who has a son in the New York City police department and a daughter who is a Postal Service police officer at Kennedy International Airport, was known for his ability to deal with tricky situations.
Born in Barbados, Bryce grew up in Trinidad where he was an avid cricket player. He moved to the United States in the 1960s, as did many of his neighbors from the West Indies.
``He had a quick wit and loved to tell jokes,'' said Andy Thomas, who grew up with Bryce in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, and was his neighbor in Brooklyn for more than 40 years.
Bryce had just returned to work Monday after a vacation in Greece and was engaged to be married in November.
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