Officer Thomas Mathews
Remembered
The early morning hours of Wednesday, June 29th,
1949 were warm and clear as Officers Tom Mathews and Clark Cutting
of the Abington Police Department patrolled beat #4 in the township's
upscale Rydal section.
At 1:18 A.M. the two young policemen turned onto
quiet Dixon Lane. Officer Mathews, a four-year veteran of the
force, noticed that outdoor floodlights were on at one of the
large homes up ahead on Barrowdale Road.
"There are lights in Koenig's, we had better
drive in," he said to his partner. As the officer pulled
onto the property, they saw Mr. Koenig signaling from a second
story window.
The stolen truck driven by
Off. Mathews' killer
"My dogs were barking quite a bit," Koenig
explained to the officers. "I thought someone might be around,
so I turned the lights on." As the officers got out of their
car to investigate, they heard an engine start up. The sound came
from the nearby intersection of Barrowdale and Leopard. The officers
jumped back in their car and located an older, green International
panel truck just minutes later. The vehicle was turning into the
O'Neil property at Leopard and Dixon when the officers pulled
up behind it. Oddly enough, the dilapidated truck immediately
began backing out of the driveway. Officer Mathews called for
the driver to stop. Officer Cutting remembered that the man behind
the wheel almost backed into the patrol car, and noticed that
the truck was missing its rear cargo doors and had "Fruit
& Produce" painted on the side in weathered lettering.
As the officers approached the truck, they found
the driver clad in sandals, brown pants, and a blue checked shirt.
Off. Cutting asked the man for identification, while Officer Mathews
examined the rear of the vehicle. The driver retrieved an expired
license in the name of "Robert Arden" from the glove
box and exited the truck while Officer Cutting took a closer look
at the interior. Shining his police issue flashlight on the driver,
Officer Mathews asked what the bottles in the cargo area contained.
Officer Tom Mathews (center) flanked by Officer Herb Mooney
and Officer Harry Brackenridge
Continued
