Back in 1964-65 I was in my last year at MSU, majoring in Police Administration. In the second quarter of the year I was sent out on "field training", essentially three months of ride-along with three different agencies--local, county, and federal. For the federal I wound up with ATF in Chicago.

When I checked in I found out that there were still two guys on the pay roll from the days of Prohibition. One, Al "Wallpaper" Wolff (who I understand was an advisor on Costner's "Untouchables" movie years later) and another whose name I no longer recall. They were older than dirt--at least 70--and I was all ears.

They told me a couple of gun stories. One was when on agent was showing another his new revolver as they were driving along behind an armored car. Somewhere in the conversation they noticed that the barrel of a Thompson was pointed out the gun slot in the back door of the armored car, right at them. They promptly backed off!

The other story from these guys was that he had taken to carrying a 1911, and got involved in a shootout. He shot a guy on a set of stairs and he cried out, "You killed me!". The response came back, "That's what I'm trying to do, you ***!".

Maybe they were just trying to impress a green kid. If so, they succeeded.

My mother was raised in Chicago in those years, and she said it was one tough town. I suspect she knew what she was talking about.