By Andy Rathbun
St. Paul Pioneer Press
While on duty with the Hudson Police Department during the summer in 1953, Carol Weber’s father was shot and killed trying to stop a robber.
Clarence Erickson Jr. was 26 years old and had been a cop for about a year. He had known for only a few weeks that he was to be a father for the first time.
Weber said the shooting wasn’t something she thought about much over the years until late last summer when she got a call from Hudson Police Chief Marty Jensen, who wanted to honor her father with the Medal of Valor.
“I was really surprised after all these years,” said Weber, of Stillwater. “I think it’s important for the family, but just in general to acknowledge the fact of what happened.”
Erickson, the only Hudson officer to die in the line of duty, will be awarded the medal posthumously during a ceremony Saturday. Weber will attend the ceremony with her three children and accept the award on behalf of the father she never met.
Jensen said honoring Erickson is necessary and long overdue.
“I just think it’s time to recognize the man for his sacrifice,” he said.
THE SHOOTING
A call went out to police the night of June 13, 1953, a Saturday, saying a man had just robbed Duren’s Tavern in Polk County and fled with $410 in cash.
The robber’s car, a stolen 1953 DeSoto sedan, was spotted about 2 a.m. Sunday when it passed two St. Croix County traffic officers near Somerset. The officers stopped the car after a short chase.
When officer Lee Murphy approached the car, he saw a pair of Wisconsin license plates on the floor. He asked the driver, Wilferd Goneau, what they were for.
Goneau replied, “This is what they’re for,” and pulled out a .32 caliber handgun. Murphy dropped to the ground and Goneau reached out the window and shot him through the shoulder, Pioneer Press staff writer William J. Martin reported.
Murphy and his partner emptied their guns into the back of the DeSoto as it drove away.
Erickson was alerted to the incident by his father, St. Croix County sheriff dispatcher Clarence Erickson Sr. The younger Erickson and fellow officer Ray Hanson caught up to the vehicle as it crossed into Hudson and forced it off the road along Second Street.
Goneau, a 42-year-old parolee from Iron River, Wis., got out of the car and ran. Erickson caught up to him halfway up a flight of concrete stairs. A struggle ensued, and Goneau shot Erickson through the right leg.
Goneau grabbed Erickson’s gun and ran down the stairs shooting at Hanson. As the two men exchanged gunfire, Erickson limped along a grassy embankment and grabbed Goneau just as Murphy and the other St. Croix County officer arrived.
Erickson and Goneau fell to the grass. Goneau fired Erickson’s .45-caliber gun point blank into Erickson’s chest, killing him.
Goneau sat on Erickson’s body and yelled at officers, “If you don’t stop shooting, I’ll kill your buddy.”
The gunfight continued, and at one point a bullet ripped through Goneau’s pants pocket, “spilling out coins, part of the tavern loot,” the Pioneer Press reported.
Goneau managed to get to the Hudson police car but couldn’t push down the clutch. The officers approached, and Hanson shot Goneau in the head, killing him.
THE AFTERMATH
Weber learned about her father through family stories. Her grandparents talked about him but said little about his police work.
“I think it was too painful,” she said.
He was a likeable person, they told her, a caring person. Weber said her family was always straightforward with her about what happened that day.
At the time of the shooting, Weber’s parents had been married about a year.
“My mom found out she was pregnant with me probably about three weeks before this all happened,” Weber said. "(My dad) was very excited and very happy about it....They were just getting the word out to other people.”
Weber was 4 when her mother, Lorraine, remarried. Her mother died in 1989.
Weber said her father’s death comes to mind when she hears of other officers dying in the line of duty.
“They’re protecting us and they died in line of duty - they should be recognized,” she said. “But this one fell through the cracks.”
Jensen said he got the idea of honoring Erickson after he visited the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. He did some research and found that, although there was a plaque honoring Erickson at the Hudson police station, Erickson had never received the Medal of Valor.
“It’s kind of fun that someone took the time to research this and put it all together,” Weber said. “Chief Marty has done such a marvelous job....It’s just amazing.”
Few officers have received the Medal of Valor in Hudson history, Jensen said. The award comes during National Police Week.
“I felt it was important to tell my officers that even though this happened over 50 years ago, it’s important to recognize this officer’s contributions to our city,” Jensen said.
“Even though he was wounded he...came down on the guy a second time, and wrestled with him until he was shot and killed,” he said of Erickson. “He never gave up.”
Copyright 2011 St. Paul Pioneer Press