The Unmaking of a Whistleblower
Seattle’s Police Board fires an officer who claimed he was targeted for reporting corruption within the force.
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.
The police commissioners last night dropped Detective Spriggs from the force, and P. E. Sims gave notice that he does not consider himself properly removed. Detective Spriggs defended his record, stating this was not the first time he had been called to defend himself from Chief Jackson. Spriggs said the Chief had admitted he had done his duty, and that the charges against him had not been proved. Jackson told him after the last inquiry that as long as he remained on the force, he would make it warm for him. Spriggs admitted that he had reported police officers who were not doing their duty, and that was his offense. Commissioner Wallingford said he had been fighting Spriggs’ battles, and he believed he had been 'jobbed.' The mayor concluded: 'I vote aye; I know Spriggs to be a disturber of the peace in the department.'
“Spriggs defied the board to find anything against him to justify his removal. Jackson Thompson, he said, told Swertwood he would give $50 to get Spriggs off the force because he had not let those bunko men off.”
Internal police politics and the retaliation against officers who report misconduct remain a central tension in Seattle's civic administration. The 'disturber of the peace' label is a historical echo of how administrations have traditionally sidelined dissenters within the ranks.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.