Fatal Encounter in the Night
A Seattle policeman kills an unidentified intruder discovered in a store at 1st and Jefferson.
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.
At 1 o'clock this morning, Policeman Austin discovered a burglar in a harness store at 1st and Jefferson streets. He called upon the man to throw up his hands, but instead of doing so he started to run. The officer then shot him through the head, killing him instantly. Nothing was found on the body by which he could be identified.
“He called upon the man to throw up his hands, but instead of doing so he started to run. The officer then shot him through the head.”
This incident occurred in the heart of what is now Pioneer Square, a district that has shifted from 19th-century mercantile hubs to a historic preservation district. While the lethal policing of a burglary is a staple of historical news, today's focus on police accountability and use-of-force policy makes such accounts resonate differently.
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