Detective Frank Fraser

End of Watch : August 15, 1911

DETECTIVE FRANK FRASER
St. Paul PD
Died August 14, 1911

On Saturday, August 12, just before 5:00 p.m., Detective Frank Fraser boarded a westbound Selby-Lake streetcar between St. Peter and Market Streets. He was following Peter Juhl, aka/John Lewis, an ostrich plume thief from Louisville, KY. Juhl was wanted in several eastern cities for wholesale robbery. Officer Fraser had been given information that the thief was en route to St. Paul and to be on the look out for him.

Once on the streetcar, Officer Fraser came up behind the suspect, placed his hand on Juhl's shoulder and told him he was under arrest. Juhl pulled out a revolver, turned and fired at Fraser, hitting him in the groin. Officer Michael Fallon, who was a Fourth and St. Peter Streets, hear the first shot and ran to the streetcar to help. As Fraser fought with the suspect for the gun, he asked his fellow passengers to help, but most of them left the streetcar when it stopped-blocking Officer Fallon's way as he tried to board to assist Fraser.

Meanwhile, Fraser was shot again in the hand. Once on the streetcar, Officer Fallon struck Juhl several times in the head and the two officers were able to detain Lewis. Fraser asked a passenger to go get a doctor. He then went and sat at the rear of the car. Juhl was detained at Central Station and Officer Fraser was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital.

The suspect, Peter Juhl, was wanted for escaping from Stillwater Penitentiary in March, 1911, with Jerry McCarthy, who shot and killed Officer Joseph Ollinger just the month before. He was returned to Stillwater after being indicted on the murder charge, as there were rumors that the citizens were going to break into the jail to hang Juhl. He was also accused of dynamiting the Polk County Courthouse safe in Iowa on March 31 and was also a suspect in the Central State Bank robbery in Minneapolis. A Minneapolis officer also reported being shot at the day before by a man matching Juhl's description.

On August 14th, at 12:15 p.m., two days after the incident, Officer Fraser died at St. Joseph's Hospital. Officer Fraser was 47 years old and was survived by his wife, 17-year-old daughter, and 83-year-old mother. He had been with the department since April 27th, 1891. In his 20-year career, he had worked as a patrolman for four years, then as a driver of the Central Street wagon before he made detective. His funeral was held Thursday, August 17th at St. Luke's Catholic Church and he was buried in Calvary Cemetery. More than 6,000 people attended his funeral including 150 St. Paul officers, 15 Minneapolis officers and the mayor.

A female who Fraser had arrested for vagrancy the week before the shooting was released the day Fraser died "because the detective was not in court to testify against the woman."

Sourced from: The book "We Will Remember"
With permission from Lisa Lovering, Author and Board of Director
MN Law Enforcement Memorial Association
L.E.M.A. 2009

Joseph Ollinger

William J Lyden