(The following article by Tim O’Neil was posted on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website on November 15.)
ST. LOUIS — They began with Allan Pinkerton’s agency, which provided security for the Illinois Central Railroad before the Civil War. They chased Butch Cassidy, Jesse James and, in modern times, the Conrail Boyz.
They are railroad detectives, known during the hobo days of the Great Depression as “bulls.” And, except for a few limitations, they have the powers of any other officer with a gun and badge.
Railroad detectives make up a small club. Missouri currently licenses only 55 officers at four major railroads. An Illinois agency estimates that about 200 work in that state.
Patroling dark rail yards and lonely main lines, they make the news only on occasion – when an officer finds a dumped body, or if one battles thieves who break into freight cars.
On Sunday night, a detective for the Union Pacific Railroad shot and killed Barry Bonner of East St. Louis in Bonner’s driveway, which is near one of the railroad’s lines. The detective, who was on duty at the time, told Illinois investigators that Bonner, 45, fired first with a shotgun.
State authorities recovered a shotgun at the scene but have offered few other details.
The Union Pacific placed the officer on paid leave and its spokesman declined further comment. The officer’s name was not released. An official with the Illinois State Police said its investigation continues.
Jesse Haire, a spokesman for Bonner’s relatives, said he would meet today with State Police to press the family’s belief that the shooting was unjustified.
“There was something that took place between him and Barry, and he took it to the next level,” Haire said.
The duties of railroad detectives are to protect lives and property on railroad rights of way. They are licensed or commissioned by states, not the federal government, and enforce appropriate state laws.
“They aren’t out there writing speeding tickets,” said Warren Flatau, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration in Washington.
In Missouri and Illinois, railroad detectives have standard police powers, with some exceptions. Missouri law, for example, doesn’t allow them to seek or serve search warrants or civil summonses.
But Jeremy Spratt, of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said they can pursue suspects fleeing from railroad property, just as municipal officers can pursue beyond their city limit. Spratt works with the department branch that licenses railroad detectives.
“While in pursuit of violations of railroad property, they have the enforcement powers of regular officers,” Spratt said.