Remembering crime reporter Russ Ewing, who once told As It Happens how he got 100 suspects to surrender

As a Chicago crime reporter, Russ Ewing created a unique place for himself in the city. The police trusted him — but so did the criminals. 

Ewing was many things — a firefighter, pilot and jazz pianist. But it was his legendary reporting that many newsrooms are remembering this week. Ewing died on Tuesday. He was 95. 

For decades, the TV reporter built a reputation as a fair and accessible voice in Chicago. Whether he was dealing with the police or a murderer on the lam, Ewing took the same evenhanded, impartial approach.

As a result, he often became the go-between for fugitives, hostage-takers and suspects looking to surrender to police, whose officers had been accused of brutality over the years.

As a TV reporter, Ewing once told the Chicago Sun-Times: "If I take a picture of you, and I can show that you haven't got a scratch on you, then if you do come up with some scratches, it's to your advantage." 

Over the course of Ewing's career, more than 100 people turned themselves in with his assistance.

In 1992, CBC host Richard Gwyn spoke to Ewing on As It Happens about his 100th case. Here is part of their conversation.

Mr. Ewing, what is your secret? How do you get these murderers, or suspected murderers, to actually listen to you and then, later on, how do you get him to surrender?

Well, I don't think I get them to do anything. I think over the years I've developed a reputation here in Chicago, in this area, of being fair, being honest and treating everybody the same — whether he is a fugitive or whether he's the mayor of the city.

I treat everyone the same and that word has gotten around and this has happened.

Okay, but I mean, I'm a murderer and I've jumped bail, say. I'm holed up in an abandoned building. Along comes this nice, friendly, open, honest guy, called Russ Ewing. Why don't I blow your head off?

Well, I think, mainly, my head has managed to stay on over the years because I never go in asking someone to turn themselves in. I wait until they call me.

Ah yes.

From their mothers, or their sisters, or their girlfriends, or whatever, and I show up. They usually ask for you, and when they do that, I don't think you have too much to worry about.

How did you get into this? How did it start? [How] did you develop this knack or reputation?

I think the very first time just came by accident.

There was a mental patient who was holding a woman and two young children hostage for a long time. He was threatening. The police had surrounded the house. 

They didn't want to try to rush the house because they thought he might kill one of the innocent people. But after waiting for a long time, I asked the police, I said, "Let me see if I can talk to the guy."

And I got up near the door. He recognized me from television. He let me come in. We talked for about an hour and the only thing we talked about — I didn't talk about surrendering — I just talked about using a philosophy that any kind of living is better than any kind of dying.

After we talked about it for a while he put the gun down and we walked out arm-in-arm. And it's been going on ever since.

Now, this is not a line of work, but it's a line of activity. I mean, your job is a television reporter, of course. But it must be pretty dangerous. Have you been in situations where you've been scared and where, you know, you almost did get your head blown off?

Well, I'm scared all the time — and I'm the first one to admit it. But it has developed to the point where our station has ended up getting exclusive interviews with murderers that every other station in the city is trying to get.

Now, we've all heard of Andy Warhol saying that everyone in the age of media is going to be famous for 15 minutes. In fact, is your lure to these guys the fact that you are going to make them famous for 15 minutes, by putting them on television?

No. No, I don't think that's a lure at all. They have many different reasons for doing it.

Some of these fugitives are tired of running. I brought a guy in who the FBI in this country had been looking for for about 15 years. He just made up his mind. He was tired of running and tired of hiding.

He wanted to go in but he wanted to see his kids first. So I put him in my airplane and I flew him to a city where he saw his children. I brought him back and he surrendered.

Others want me to intercede and get attorneys for them and do other things like that. Every case is different. And you never know what you're going to run into.

To what extent can you promise these guys favourable treatment, a fair hearing, or those kind of things?

Since I've been doing this, and this spans over 28 years, I can truthfully say that the Chicago Police Department has never done anything which could be considered as unfortunate or wrong to anybody that I've brought in.

We hear cases of police brutality and things like that from time to time. But of all the people that I've brought in, nothing has ever happened to them and they all get back to me later through their relatives, their parents and their lawyers.

There have been no problems at all.

By the way, of the ninety-nine, how many, in fact, ended up as convicted murderers?

I would say at least 90 per cent of them. At least 90 per cent of the people knew that they had committed the crimes and they were almost ready to confess in some cases.

So there was no question that these were dangerous guys that you were dealing with.

None, whatsoever.

Written by John McGill. Interview produced by Jeanne Armstrong and John McGill. Q&A edited for length and clarity.