Chief Rogers
Named in 49 stories. Back to all names
- Jan 14, 1892The Ghost of the Street: Seattle’s Most Prolific Teenage Con ArtistBefore the age of identity theft, a nameless youth wandered the streets of 1892 Seattle, forging heartbreaking letters of loss to bilk the city's compassionate elite.Second Street, Seattle, WA
- Feb 2, 1892The Midnight Kidnapping of the 'Wasco' DeckhandsA bitter labor dispute on the Seattle waterfront spills into open water as union men board a steamer to abduct non-union workers.Seattle, WA
- Feb 29, 1892The Waterfront Heist and the Chief’s Clever RuseA notorious 'beach-comber' terrorized Beacon Hill and Fremont, hiding stolen silverware in the mud under a dock until a detective’s staged ruse cracked the case.Virginia Street, Seattle, WA
- Mar 8, 1892The 'Sullivan Thugs' and the Battle for Seattle's SoulOn the eve of the 1892 mayoral election, a local political scandal involving hired enforcers and intercepted telegrams brings Seattle to the brink of chaos.Seattle, WA
- Mar 20, 1892The Midnight Raid on Seattle's Gambling HallsA surprise police sweep through Seattle's gaming dens sends hundreds of players scrambling into the rainy streets, leaving gambling tools and jail cells in their wake.Washington Street & 2nd Ave S, Seattle, WA
- Mar 25, 1892The Mayor's Power Grab at City HallMayor Ronald moves to dissolve the police commission, raising alarm about the erosion of Seattle's checks and balances.Seattle, WA
- Apr 1, 1892The Street Parade That Scandalized Victorian SeattleA boisterous variety theater's promotional procession—featuring 'bold and painted women'—ignited a fierce public outcry in 1892, highlighting the era's clashing views on morality and civic decorum.Seattle, WA
- May 29, 1894A Forgery Arrest, a Suicide Attempt, and a Case Spokane Papers Got WrongBrad Knapp was arrested in Seattle over school warrants; days earlier his wife had shot herself, and a mistaken identity muddled the story.Olympic Block, Seattle, WA
- Jun 6, 1894The City Clamps Down on Variety TheatersSeattle authorities arrest variety theater owners for allowing singing in venues where alcohol is served.Third Street, Seattle, WA
- Jun 10, 1894The Forger Who Ordered Champagne to the Mansion of J. M. ColmanFor two weeks a smooth-talking stranger worked Front Street with forged order slips and a taste for the good stuff — until six bottles of champagne went to the wrong address.Seattle, WA
- Jun 15, 1894The All-Night Waterfront Watch That Recovered Forty Stolen Boom ChainsPolice lay in wait at the foot of Vine Street after a boat loaded with chains appeared in North Seattle. The trail led back to a Port Townsend mill and a second-hand dealer.Seattle, WA
- Jun 16, 1894Police Commissioners Address Chinese Community ComplaintsAfter Chinese merchants filed a petition regarding unauthorized police searches, the department claimed all raids were legal.Seattle, WA
- Jun 19, 1894A Father Arrested Following Neighborhood InterventionA teenage girl is taken to police headquarters by her neighbors, leading to the arrest of her father in a case of alleged abuse.Seattle, WA
- Jun 20, 1894The Bunko Men, the Norwegian Sisters, and the Saloonkeeper's RevengeA shell-game gang swindles two Norwegian sisters out of $300 on the Seattle waterfront; Frank Hart is convicted in three minutes, then a saloonkeeper assaults one of his accusers outside court.Seattle, WA
- Jul 9, 1894The Burglary at Seventh StreetA bold thief breaks into a local doctor's home, only to be outsmarted by his own clothing choices.Seattle, WA
- Jul 17, 1894The Dog Catcher in DisgraceA suspended Seattle officer, a roadhouse cash trail, and a police board that could not agree on who had the power to hire a clerk.Seattle, WA
- Jul 19, 1894The License Collector Caught in His Own TrapE. W. Bates shook down Lake Washington resorts, tried to pin the money on his boss, and was fired and arrested in the same afternoon.Seattle, WA
- Jul 22, 1894The Circus Crooks Meet Chief Rogers' ShadowSeattle police pair a detective with every known short-change and gim-flam man at the circus, but not before an old islander is nearly taken for $60.Seattle, WA
- Jul 29, 1894When the City Council Accidentally Legalized the Dance HallsA lawyer finds that Seattle's council quietly repealed its dance-hall ordinances, and the halls reopen in defiance of the police chief — who can only threaten warrants until a new law is passed.Seattle, WA
- Jul 30, 1894The Bellboy Who Robbed His BenefactorA 14-year-old hotel worker and a 10-year-old accomplice were arrested after a satchel of jewelry and railroad passes disappeared from H. W. Baker's home.Seattle, WA
- Aug 2, 1894Driven From Home: A Mother and Three Children at the Police StationFound drunk in a waterfront saloon with her children in tow, a 23-year-old woman told a police matron a story of beatings and of a husband at a coal camp near Palmer who cast her out with the babies.Seattle, WA
- Aug 3, 1894A Missing Man, a Dead Wife, and a Sewing Machine Full of MoneyJoseph Von Lingenau vanished after his wife died in childbirth. His friends fear murder; his neighbors remember a man coming apart.Seattle, WA
- Aug 10, 1894A Newspaper Editor's Silence in Court: The Lugrin Libel TrialC. H. Lugrin, managing editor of the Seattle Telegraph, rested his defense without calling witnesses in a libel trial brought by Police Chief Rogers. The case now goes to the jury.Seattle, WA
- Aug 18, 1894The Wife Asked Three Times: 'Henry, Where Were You Monday Night?'Already charged with a double murder in South Seattle, Henry Craemer now stands suspected of a second killing after a cheap silver watch and a pillow-rigged fire surface as evidence.South Seattle College, Seattle, WA
- Sep 2, 1894Guns at the Polls: Seattle’s First Ward Primary Erupts in a Street BrawlSheriff Woolery and saloon man John Considine tried to seize a Republican primary by arresting the election judges; Chief Rogers and his police fought back with warrants, clubs and drawn revolvers.Seattle, WA
- Sep 4, 1894The Night Seattle’s Mayor Nearly Fired His Police BoardAn executive-session showdown over Chief Rogers ended with Mayor Phelps handing a commissioner his own removal papers — then taking them back.Seattle, WA
- Sep 6, 1894The Mayor Fires a Police Commissioner to Save His ChiefSeattle's mayor removes John G. Niggle from the police board, accusing him of protecting prostitution and conspiring to oust Chief Rogers — then demands that two more commissioners resign on the spot.Seattle, WA
- Sep 6, 1894The Mayor Fires His Police Commissioner in a Fight Over a DenA vice dispute between Seattle's police chief and one of his commissioners ends with Mayor Phelps wielding the axe.Seattle, WA
- Sep 9, 1894The Bloody Hammer and the Brewer's WifeSeattle prosecutors rest their murder case against Craemer after a courtroom day of fire, hidden gold, and a suspect whose hands shook at the sight of the weapon.Seattle, WA
- Sep 18, 1894Seattle's Mayor Overreached: Judge Langley Voids the Police Commission FiringsThe mayor's summary removal of Police Commissioners Niggle and Cheasty was null and void, the court ruled, leaving Chief Rogers in charge and the city's police leadership in limbo.Seattle, WA
- Jan 14, 1895Seattle Burned the Devil's Playthings in the City FurnaceThe Colored Pastime Club's cards and tables went up in smoke, reviving memories of the Budweiser raid, Sheriff Cochran's cleanup, and the 1885 Chinese riots.Seattle, WA
- Jan 22, 1895A Packed Seattle Council Refuses to Reconsider Andrew Jackson—and Spars Over Work for the UnemployedIn a tense night meeting, aldermen uphold the rejection of Jackson for the public works board, refer the Industrial Co-operative Society's plea for jobs, and wrestle with street names, franchises and city finances.Seattle, WA
- Jan 23, 1895Seattle's Vagrancy Sweep: Work, Leave Town, or JailA late-night police roundup netted more than thirty tramps, beggars, and tinhorn gamblers, who were given a lecture and a three-way choice: work, leave town, or jail.Seattle, WA
- Jan 27, 1895The Judge Forgot the Evidence, and the Gambling Case WalkedCharles Shaw’s Union Club prosecution ended when the judge couldn’t recall Chief Rogers’ key testimony. The gambling furniture went out the door anyway.Seattle, WA
- Feb 6, 1895A Forged Check Leads to a Hotel-Room ArrestA bogus $7.50 check at a Columbia Street drugstore unravels into cocaine, morphine and a man who may have been the "Henry" on the signature.Seattle, WA
- Feb 6, 1895The Peanut Stand and the Disorderly HouseA Seattle husband convicted as a disorderly person produced a Denver marriage license and a tribute to his wife—while police described a peanut stand used as cover for something else.Seattle, WA
- Feb 16, 1895Seattle's 1895 Police Chief Wanted Fewer 14-Hour Shifts—and More Control Over Opium and NewsboysThe annual report described a force stretched thin by budget cuts and proposed licensing pawnbrokers, druggists, newsboys, and garbage carts.Seattle, WA
- Mar 11, 1895A Messenger Boy, a Pawned Watch, and Badge No. 21Detective Philbrick traced a stolen gold watch through Seattle pawnshops to a 17-year-old messenger who confessed to taking it while a woman slept.221 Columbia Street, Seattle, WA
- Mar 12, 1895The Stove Thief, the Opium Smoker, and the Crooked ColonyA red-haired plumber's slip of the tongue and a morphine-addicted burglar's hidden shack give Seattle police a busy day in court.Seattle, WA
- Mar 16, 1895A Judge Reverses Himself and Lets the Gamblers WalkA raid on Moy Lung's Washington Street gambling house netted twenty-two Chinese men. Then Municipal Judge Glasgow dismissed the cases, reversed a guilty verdict, and remitted the one fine he had already imposed.Seattle, WA
- Mar 29, 1895The Outlaw's Only Friend Comes Home to SeattleTom Blanck's sole confidant returns from Victoria and tells a reporter what the notorious Northwest criminal was really like — a killer who never touched liquor or tobacco, and who swore he'd never be taken alive.Seattle, WA
- Apr 19, 1895The Pike Street Rescue of Three 'Giddy' GirlsA 16-year-old from Victoria and two Seattle girls were pulled from saloon back rooms and lodging houses; one father got his daughter back.Seattle, WA
- Apr 22, 1895The Night Seattle's Chief Emptied the Variety DistrictA weekend sweep of Seattle's saloon district ended with twenty arrests and most prisoners ordered out of town within twenty-four hours.Seattle, WA
- Apr 24, 1895He Paid a Man $12 to Burn His Own HouseA barber and the man he hired confess to torching 128 Rollin Street for the insurance money — a house that had already burned once, and whose policy had already been cut in half.Seattle, WA
- May 5, 1895The $40 Prize Burglary That Came Up Through the FloorSomeone broke into the basement of the Famous Clothing Co., bored a clean hole through the floor beneath a display window and pulled out the cash box without disturbing the storefront.700–702 First Avenue, Seattle, WA
- May 25, 1895The Burglar Who Found Religion—and Then Turned Himself InElijah Brown, an escaped Kansas convict who had been converted at a Salvation Army meeting in Seattle, walked into police headquarters and surrendered to Chief Rogers.Seattle, WA
- Jun 16, 1895A Chinatown Romance InterruptedWhen a young woman sought police protection to marry the man of her choice, the Chief of Police stepped in to mediate a dispute between the couple and her guardian.Washington Street, Seattle, WA
- Jun 21, 1895The Hasheesh Defense: A Seattle Murder Trial Turns on a Drugged CocktailHarry Fraser was shot dead in a Northern Hotel saloon. The accused insisted the last thing he remembered was dice dancing on the table—and a drink that may have been laced with hasheesh.Seattle, WA
- Jun 24, 1895The Humpty Dumpty Burglar: Twelve Silk Shirts and a Footrace Down Columbia StreetA well-dressed sealer stuffs himself with stolen finery and tries to outrun Patrolman Birdsall — but the bulging overcoat gives him away.Seattle, WA