The Janitor Who Was a Cop: How One Man’s Brutal Discipline Was Legalized by Law
In a landmark ruling for school safety and corporal punishment, a Seattle janitor is acquitted of child abuse charges after proving he was sworn in as a special police officer.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
JANITOR LAMB ACQUITTED Has Authority to Treat Pupils as He Did.
SEATTLE, April 15 — John Lamb, janitor of the 20th Street School, was Wednesday acquitted of mistreating pupils, after a trial lasting two days.
The case hinged upon the question of whether the punishment was justified and allowable under the laws. The state statutes declare against corporal punishment, but with reference to independent school districts, such as Seattle's, there is a provision permitting them to make their own rules and regulations so long as they do not conflict with those of the state.
Documentary evidence proved that Janitor Lamb had been appointed a special policeman, and had been sworn in on the day prior to the school trouble. This empowered him to take the extreme measures which he is alleged to have taken with such pupils as resisted him.
This 1906 case highlights a time when school discipline was legally ambiguous and often brutal, relying on ad-hoc authority figures like janitors to enforce order. It stands in stark contrast to today's strict legal protections for students and the professionalization of school security, where corporal punishment is banned nationwide.
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