Handcuffed in a Seattle Beer Hall
When an all-round sport got into a tavern brawl, a bystander tracked down an officer to break it up—only for the lawman to escalate the violence personally.
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.
Last night about 10 o'clock, while a large crowd was gathered in the Friend-Degginger beer hall on Second street, two men got into a wrangle, followed by a scuffle. One of the men was unknown to the crowd, but the other was Aleck Campbell, who is recognized as an all-round sport. Campbell got the best of it and caught the other man by the throat and shook him, refusing to let go. A bystander ran into the street for an officer and found Nick Hanna, who was, however, not on duty. Campbell still held on and Hanna struck him over the head with a pair of handcuffs. What followed was in considerable confusion, but a bystander asserts that Campbell ran dazed to the door. Turning he recognized the officer and cried: 'Hello, my head isn't the place for handcuffs; here's my hands if you want me.' Hanna made a dash at him and with an oath struck Campbell in the face with the handcuffs, drawing blood. He then seized Campbell and marched him off, but no charge was made, and the presumption is Hanna let him go. Hanna could not be found last night to verify the story and Campbell disappeared.
“Hello, my head isn't the place for handcuffs; here's my hands if you want me.”
This scene captures a Seattle where the line between 'sport' and the law was blurry and violent. While modern Seattle police accountability is a major civic focal point, 1894 records suggest that 'letting go' of suspects was standard procedure for off-duty officers settling street disputes.
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