A Fever in the Heart: And Other True Cases by Ann Rule Page B
Authors: Ann Rule
Tags: General, Literary Criticism, True Crime, Biography, Murder, Criminals, Case studies, Murder - Investigation, Trials (Murder), Murder - United States, Pacific States
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married young, the first of their group to do so. He fathered two sons. He was working for the City of Yakima, driving a garbage truck while Morris was working nights in the state mental hospital. They both had dreams. Morris had always wanted to become a teacher and a coach. Vern Henderson dreamed of being a policeman and one day a detective. "I always thought I wanted to be a policeman because I thought that would be nice working and helping people," Vern recalled. "But I really thought that I never had a chance to be in law enforcement, if you want to know the truth. Back in those days, you didn't see any black policemen, not in Yakima. I wanted to work in the juvenile section, that's where I wanted to be, working with kids." When Vern graduated from Davis and went to Yakima Valley Community College, and then Central Washington University at Ellensburg, he held on to that ambition. "A lot of my friends were becoming policemen. Jim Beaushaw who was a quarterback and was a couple of years ahead of us he became a police officer. And then a few others. Jim said, Vern, it would be a good job for you. You relate well with people.""
Vern Henderson told Jim he would give it a try. He took the test for patrolman. "They had one opening," he remembered. "And the first time I took the test, l didn't pass high enough. And then I said to myself, Wait a minute. l can do better than this. l know these guys are not smarter than me." I went back and I studied, and eight guys took the test and they had one opening again. This time, though, l came out number one."
That was in 1968. Chief Robert Madden hired Vern Henderson the first black police officer ever in Yakima. It was the fulfillment of Vern's impossible dreams. Gabby Moore was bringing glory to Davis High with his wrestling squads. Morris and Jerilee had moved back to Yakima from Tacoma and she was pregnant with her first child. And Vern Henderson was a young patrolman, cruising the streets of Yakima. Eighteen months later, Vern was sent "upstairs" to try out as a detective working in the juvenile section. "They were having a lot of problems with juvenile black gangs," he said. "They knew that I knew a lot of the kids. After I stayed there for three or four months, I went back down on the line."
But I was only there for thirty days. I'd made so many arrests in juvenile that they said, You're going back upstairs,' and that's where I was for the next ten years." Over those years, Vern Henderson would work five years in juvenile, and then in the "regular" detective unit. He worked all manner of cases: burglary, auto theft, and homicides. His being black often gave him a leg up with many of the informants and suspects. In the juvenile division, Vern could speak the same language as many of the kids who were brought in. "I understood them and I could talk to them. They knew I was serious when I said they could trust what I said." Whenever there was a problem in the black community, it was Vern Henderson who was sent to represent the Yakima Police Department.
He felt very confident then, it was only decades later that he marveled at his temerity in thinking he could handle the emerging gang problem singlehandedly. It was decades later too when he would look back with some regret on a decision he had had to make a decision that would weaken forever the link he had forged with members of his own race. By 1974 both Morris Blankenbaker and Vern Henderson were almost thirty-two, and they had realized their goals. Morris was teaching sociology at Washington Junior High School and expecting to coach there too. The two men were still close friends, possibly closer than ever. One day the Yakima City water line sprung a leak somewhere beneath the surface of the Yakima River. Someone had to dive down and try to locate the break.
Both Vern and Morris were skilled SCUBA divers. "They couldn't pay me," Vern recalled, "because I was already on the city payroll, so I went and got Morris. We tied a rope
Vern Henderson told Jim he would give it a try. He took the test for patrolman. "They had one opening," he remembered. "And the first time I took the test, l didn't pass high enough. And then I said to myself, Wait a minute. l can do better than this. l know these guys are not smarter than me." I went back and I studied, and eight guys took the test and they had one opening again. This time, though, l came out number one."
That was in 1968. Chief Robert Madden hired Vern Henderson the first black police officer ever in Yakima. It was the fulfillment of Vern's impossible dreams. Gabby Moore was bringing glory to Davis High with his wrestling squads. Morris and Jerilee had moved back to Yakima from Tacoma and she was pregnant with her first child. And Vern Henderson was a young patrolman, cruising the streets of Yakima. Eighteen months later, Vern was sent "upstairs" to try out as a detective working in the juvenile section. "They were having a lot of problems with juvenile black gangs," he said. "They knew that I knew a lot of the kids. After I stayed there for three or four months, I went back down on the line."
But I was only there for thirty days. I'd made so many arrests in juvenile that they said, You're going back upstairs,' and that's where I was for the next ten years." Over those years, Vern Henderson would work five years in juvenile, and then in the "regular" detective unit. He worked all manner of cases: burglary, auto theft, and homicides. His being black often gave him a leg up with many of the informants and suspects. In the juvenile division, Vern could speak the same language as many of the kids who were brought in. "I understood them and I could talk to them. They knew I was serious when I said they could trust what I said." Whenever there was a problem in the black community, it was Vern Henderson who was sent to represent the Yakima Police Department.
He felt very confident then, it was only decades later that he marveled at his temerity in thinking he could handle the emerging gang problem singlehandedly. It was decades later too when he would look back with some regret on a decision he had had to make a decision that would weaken forever the link he had forged with members of his own race. By 1974 both Morris Blankenbaker and Vern Henderson were almost thirty-two, and they had realized their goals. Morris was teaching sociology at Washington Junior High School and expecting to coach there too. The two men were still close friends, possibly closer than ever. One day the Yakima City water line sprung a leak somewhere beneath the surface of the Yakima River. Someone had to dive down and try to locate the break.
Both Vern and Morris were skilled SCUBA divers. "They couldn't pay me," Vern recalled, "because I was already on the city payroll, so I went and got Morris. We tied a rope
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