Emerson, Chicago 1930

Impacted by the many recent police shootings that were not clearly necessary, I thought more deeply about my grandfather, Emerson Combes. "Emerson, Chicago 1930" represents the unresolved mystery of his death. He, like many contemporary citizens of Chicago, Illinois, was confronted in 1930 by three police officers. He was likely not pure of character and he did have a gun. I have no idea of what really happened, just an old newspaper report. Whether the gunshot wounds were self-inflicted, as the police reported, or if they came from close-range shots fired by the officers who had blinded him with flashlights in the night, remains unknown. There were no witnesses and the coroner made no conclusion.