The Alarmist Officer
A Seattle patrolman's attempt to slack off duty by pulling a fake fire alarm led to a public scandal and the end of his career.
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.
A Seattle patrolman, stationed at 10th Avenue and Pike Street, was dismissed from the force for neglect of duty. A curious citizen who happened to witness the incident revealed why the box was pulled. The patrolman had pulled the fire alarm to see the engines roll out while he was taking a little recreation. The officer had been on the force for about a year, but the fire alarm trick proved to be his final act on duty.
“The patrolman had pulled the fire alarm to see the engines roll out while he was taking a little recreation.”
This story of a bored officer misusing city emergency systems for a moment of drama echoes contemporary frustrations regarding civic resources. While the stakes of 1898 focused on the mechanical 'pull-box' systems of the era, the underlying issue of public trust and professional accountability remains a perennial struggle in Seattle's governance.
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