James W. Burns  (1893-1941)

On the evening of May 29, 1941, Bristol Police Officer James Burns, a senior ranking patrolman, was shot by his brother-in-law, Henry J. Cornetski, after responding to a domestic disturbance at the Cornetski home. What started the disturbance could not be learned. The patrolman’s mother, sister and brother-in-law on Union Street occupied the duplex home.

Apparently Cornetski also fired shots in the house before the police arrived. The radio and front door were shattered and the Dunbar Factory, some 100 feet away, had windows broken. Henry Cornetski had been drinking very heavily that evening and when patrolmen Burns and Edward O’Connor responded to the call, they tried to calm him down, but he opened fire, Burns was shot five times with a 12-gauge shotgun and O’Conner sustained a wounded leg and abdomen wounds. Suddenly it was all over and Cornetski shifted his attention to passing cars, attempting to direct traffic. A passerby, identified as John Fijol, overpowered Cornetski and grabbed the gun from him.

In the meantime Burns was transported to the Bristol Hospital and was received there as dead on arrival. Burns was now the second Bristol Police officer to be killed in the line of duty during Chief Ernest T. Belden’s tenure. Patrolman James McNamee was killed on Jan. 16, 1930 by three bandits following a service station holdup in Forestville.

Burns had dodged ill luck for a while. As a result of a police board reprimand he was about ready to return to duty after serving three months of night duty. While on duty the summer prior to his death he had been thrown from a motorcycle and was seriously injured and two weeks before his death, he suffered an arm injury after being struck by an automobile.

According to Chief Belden, Cornetski, a man of slight build and medium height, appeared to be in a daze when questioned. Dr. Arthur S. Brackett, medical examiner, had the following comment to make when interviewed. "Whiskey and gunpowder do not mix any more than whiskey and gasoline. This calls for more stringent laws and regulations on the sale of hard liquor."

James Burns was born in Fiskville, N.Y. on Dec. 13, 1893, and the son of Peter and Annie (Conway) Burns. Prior to joining the police force in 1920, he was employed at New Departure. A World War I veteran, he was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the State Police Association, and Bristol Patrolmen’s and Firemen’s Association.

He left his widow Jennie, two daughters, Doris and Mavis, his mother, five brothers, Robert, George, Harry, John and William, and three sisters, Mrs. Cornetski, Ann and Patricia Burns, all of Bristol.

Military funeral services were held at St. Joseph Church with every available seat taken. An estimated 150 automobiles carrying mourners and friends were in the procession.

State Troopers took over the city beat from 8 to 11 a.m. in order that all members of the local police department could attend the funeral. Fellow officers, patrolmen Victor Chabot, William Leishman, Henry Malvezzi, Timothy Lambert, Joseph Ryan and James Quinlan were pallbearers.