April 13 – April 27, 1889
The Unceremonious Ousting of Seattle's Police Chief
Seattle council fired Police Chief J.C. Mitchell; he accused Mayor Moran of kickbacks.
3 reports in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 13 – April 27, 1889.
The story
Seattle's City Council fired Police Chief J.C. Mitchell in April 1889, according to reporting in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which described weeks of talk about gambling dens and corruption preceding the removal. One account says Mitchell had refused to answer for gambling and corruption, and that critics of the firing called it hasty and irregular; another frames the dismissal as a turn toward municipal reform. A later report says Mitchell, after his firing, accused Mayor Moran and the council of involvement in alleged gambling kickbacks and "star chamber" politics — the reports give no vote counts, no dates for the firing itself, and no corroboration beyond this paper.
Told from the 3 reports below. The reports are the record.
The archive grouped these reports automatically, by date, place and subject.
The reports 3
- The Seattle Post-IntelligencerThe Unceremonious Ousting of Seattle's Police Chief
After refusing to answer for rampant gambling and open corruption, Chief J.C. Mitchell is fired by the city council as the city pivots toward long-overdue municipal reform.
- The Seattle Post-IntelligencerThe Unceremonious Ousting of Chief Mitchell
After weeks of whispers regarding corruption and gambling dens, Seattle’s City Council fires the Police Chief in a move critics call 'hasty' and 'irregular.'
- The Seattle Post-IntelligencerThe Ex-Chief's Last Stand
After his firing, Seattle’s police chief J.C. Mitchell fired back against Mayor Moran and the City Council, exposing a city hall scandal involving alleged gambling kickbacks and corrupt 'star chamber' politics.
From the pages
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer · Apr 13, 1889
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer · Apr 13, 1889
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer · Apr 27, 1889
Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Public domain.