ROSS, Pa. — It’s the kind of story that would likely lead newscasts for days or weeks if it happened today.
Back in November, we told you about a police chief killed nearly 90 years ago and how the Ross Township Police Department was looking to speak to some of his family members to remember him. The same day they started searching, they got answers, thanks to some quick responses on Facebook.
“Shock and hemorrhage,” said Ronald Rickley. “Following gunshot wounds to the face and shoulder. Probably murder.”
Ronald Rickley reads the death certificate of his grandfather Chief Vernon “Port” Moses, a man whom he just missed meeting.
“Well I never met him, but I’ve heard so many stories I think I did,” said Rickley.
Rickley said his mother was in labor with him when she found out what happened to her father.
“She got the word that her dad had been killed, and she immediately went out of labor,” said Rickley. “And I was born 17 days later.”
On May 3 1932, 17 days before Rickley was born, Chief Moses had spotted members of the John Maug gang.
“They were noted criminals from the North Side,” said Rickley.
Chief Moses stopped them near Perrysville and Westview avenues.
“He told them he was a policeman, and they told him there’s no policemen out here,” said Rickley. “This is country.”
The truth about what happened next passed from one generation to the next, between family members as well as within the Ross Township Police Department.
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“Back then, what we had was we had a lot of stories that were handed down over the years, and what we learned later when we researched it was some of the story was true, but a lot of it was inaccurate,” said Ross Township Police Detective Brian Kohlhepp.
Detective Brian Kohlhepp started investigating to rediscover the truth.
“One of the things that I learned was that when he pulled them over,” said Kohlhepp. “When he stopped the car and knew they were gangsters, the one Maug gang member said this guy means business, and we learned that was their code word for I’m going to shoot and kill this guy.”
The truth is, a member of the Maug gang shot Chief Moses once in the left shoulder and didn’t stop there.
“As they pulled away, they stopped and leaned out the window and shot him in the face and that was it,” said Rickley.
A judge sentenced John Maug and Ed Turpack to 70-140 years in prison. About 20 years later, Rickley answered the door of his house and came face-to-face with Turpack’s wife.
“They wanted my mom to sign papers for him to be paroled; that was before he escaped,” said Rickley.
Maug and Turpack escaped from Western Penitentiary. Police quickly caught them and they spent the rest of their lives in prison.
To this day, Chief Moses rests in Rosedale Cemetery in Ross Township. The story of his death has never been clearer than it is now.It not only shaped the future of his family, but also the future of the Ross Township Police Department.
“I would have definitely probably been a Ross township police cop if he hadn’t gotten killed,” said Rickley.
“It’s always important to remember,” said Kohlhepp. “We’re blessed that he’s the only Ross officer that’s gone in the line of duty, and so I think that also heightens the fact of why we try to remember and honor him.”
There’s talk about renaming the street across from where the chief was shot and killed, Port Moses Lane.
His surviving family members will now be there, thanks to the power of social media.
Next year, the department will recognize Chief Moses, as well as the department’s centennial.
“There’s a history through policing of people going out there and risking all to give their life if that’s what’s necessary for the service of their communities,” said Kohlhepp.