“Monotonous Tale”: Legitimacy, Public Relations, and the Shooting of a Public Enemy

Abstract

On April 6, 1939, FBI agents shot and killed America’s “Public Enemy Number One” as he exited a St. Louis hamburger shop. Agents on the scene claimed the man, Ben Dickson, refused to surrender and threatened agents with two guns he carried. FBI documents and witness accounts, however, show that Dickson was shot in the back as he tried to run away from agents. Confronted by critics in the news media who questioned the legitimacy of the shooting, FBI officials in Washington worked with agents on the scene to concoct a version of events more amenable to the heroic media portrayals they preferred. Using FBI files released under the Freedom of Information Act and media accounts, this study explores the bureau’s behind-the-scenes work to legitimize the shooting and its use of the revised version of events as a public relations device demonstrating the bureau’s responsibility and utility.