Coroner's Inquest, San Francisco, 1934

The following is an excerpt from the verbatim transcript of the Coroner’s Inquest Upon the Body of Howard F. Sperry and Nicholas Bordoise. It is the testimony of Brother Carl Olsen who was shot along with brother’s Sperry and Bordoise. In the famous picture of two longshoremen lying on the sidewalk while blood runs towards the street, Brother Olsen is the one on the left, struggling to crawl away.

Carl Olsen - Having been first duly sworn, testified as follows:

THE CORONER: Well, Olsen, you are lucky. I was trying to hold an inquest on you.

A. Well I was one of the lucky ones.

Q. What is your name in full? A. Carl Olsen. Q. Where do you reside?

A. 221 Third Street.

Q. Your occupation?

A. Stevedore or longshoreman.

Q. How long have you been in the business?

A. I worked about three years steady now.

Q. Well, how long have you been in San Francisco working previous to this trouble?

A. About 12 years.

Q. Now, were you present on July 5th in the vicinity of Steuart and Mission Streets?

A. Yes.

Q. About 1:30 or 1:35 in the afternoon?

A. Yes.

Q. Did you see this police automobile drive up?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. Where were you at that time, Mr. Olsen?

A. Right on Stuart and Mission, about here (indicating).

Q. On the south side of Mission Street near the corner of Stuart?

A. Yes.

Q. On the southeast corner that would be?

A. Yes.

Q. How long had you been there before the shots were fired?

A. Oh, about 3 or 4 minutes.

Q. Did you see the police automobile drive up?

A. Yes, I saw it drive up.

Q. And where did it stop?

A. Just about here (indicating).

Q. Where the last witness stated?

A. Yes.

Q. Near the northerly rail of the westbound track of the Mission Street line, and near the northwest corner of Market and Stuart?

A. Yes sir.

Q. When it drove up what happened?

A. Well, I don’t know much what happened. I was standing here, and we were running then. I don’t know much what happened. But they fired one shot and we started running here, and next I was down on the sidewalk with Sperry.

Q. You saw it drive up and then it started shooting and you don’t know much what happened.

A. (the transcript is too faded to make out the answer)

Q. And you ran in what direction?

A. Toward the Embarcadero here with the bunch.

Q. Toward the Embarcadero?

A. We were right on the sidewalk here.

Q. You were on the sidewalk on the south side of Mission Street?

A. Yes.

Q. What made you run?

A. Well, what made everybody run?

Q. You thought there was going to be trouble?

A. Yes.

Q. Had any shots been fired when you started to run?

A. Yes, one shot in that direction (indicating).

Q. Then you started to run?

A. We all started running this way toward the Embarcadero, and we got hit about here (indicating).

Q. Then you fell down?

A. Yes, down against the building, and Sperry on the outside of it.

Q. What were you doing there? Were you just there out of curiosity then or –

A. No, we had been up to eat at the kitchen.

Q. Up here (indicating)?

A. Yes, and came along here and got up here for just a few minutes.

Q. You came up on this side, up here on the south side of Mission?

A. Yes.

Q. And you had been there for a few minutes?

A. Yes, talking to the fellows there.

Q. In the general crowd?

A. Yes. Q. But when you saw this trouble and heard the shots, you started to run and then you got it?

A. Yes, that’s it. We started to run this way (indicating), and one fellow tried to pick me up. I don’t know who he was. He tried to help me, but I couldn’t get up.

THE CORONER: All right. Any questions, gentlemen of the jury?

A JUROR: Did you see any bricks thrown?
Well, I couldn’t see, because –

THE CORONER: I did not ask him that, because, in a way, it might be incriminating him. I didn’t want to ask him if he threw bricks or anything of that sort, because in general the men would not answer those questions, you see.

THE JUROR: No.

THE CORONER: Whether he saw bricks or not, that is all right. Anyhow, he got shot. All right, Mr. Olsen, that’s all. Now this other gentleman?

MR. POTTER: B.P. Hall. Would you call him?

THE CORONER: Just a moment. I’ll call them as I desire.