Machine Gun Thugs Battle Police, Get Away in Fast Auto ~ Green Bay Press-Gazette, July 20, 1931

“BRRING, BRRING” the phone inside the bank rang twice. All became silent for a moment except for some faint fearful whimpers. “You! You! Get over here,” said one of the gangsters while pointing his Tommy gun at Allen. He nervously and slowly walked towards the heavily armed gangster thinking, “I always wanted to be a priest. Now I wish I had been.”

The gangster nudged him forward, “You answer the phone and make like there is nothing wrong. No foolin! You understand?” The anxiety could be heard in the gangster’s voice. With the barrel now pressed against his side, the message was clear, comply or die. “No sir, Mr. Van Vonderen is not in…” said Allen to the caller. Just then, “We’ve got company boys…” said one of the gangsters.

At the Police Department
“Police department, Patton,” the gruff veteran Sergeant answered the phone.
“You better send someone, the South Side State Bank is being robbed!” reported A.W. Juster inside the Commercial Printing office across the street from the bank.

“We are on our way!”

Just as he hung up another call came in, “The South Side State Bank has just been robbed!” reported a dentist whose office was above the bank.

“Hey chief, we’ve gotten some calls that the South Side State Bank has just been robbed…” the sergeant told Hawley.

“Delloye, Burke, DaNamur, let’s go, the South Side State Bank has just been robbed!” the chief shouted while preparing to leave himself. Patton stood up to leave, but Hawley stopped him.

“Patton, stay here, man the phones. Do not sound the general alarm to all those call boxes until we are at least half way there. If they’re still around, they are going to hear the alarm and take off!” Unlike many leaders, Hawley never forgot where he came from and insisted on going on any potentially dangerous call. It was yet another reason that his officers respected him.

Hawley hurried into the garage and grabbed a shotgun. He chambered a round. Bam! Buck shot pelted the ceiling. In his haste, he accidentally had his finger on the trigger and fired off a round. Startled, amazed and laughing. Hawley made his way outside.

Everybody climbed into one squad car, a Chevy coach, parked outside. Officer DeNamur drove and Det. Delloye sat next to him. In the back behind DeNamur sat Chief Hawley and to his right Det. Burke. The Chief joked, “Hey Delloye, it’s your turn this week, stick your head out the window and be the siren.”

Believing the robbery was over, DeNamur parked the squad car at an angle by the southwest corner of the building, onto the sidewalk, and partially facing the south alley.

“Shit, the cops!” shouted one of the gangsters inside the Nash. He squeezed the trigger of the Tommy gun unloading fifty .45 caliber rounds in four to seven seconds.

“What the hell is going on?” screamed Hawley as the squad windows began to shatter and the street erupted in gunfire...