The Detective Who Sued His Way Back to the Force
After being fired for searching a home without a warrant, a Seattle detective spent over a year battling the police department in court, finally securing his job and back pay.
Detective Samuel G. Corbett has won a final victory in the state supreme court in his efforts for reinstatement in the police force of the city of Seattle in his old rank as a detective of the first class. He held this rank when Chief of Police Sullivan ordered his removal on February 14, 1902, alleging that Corbett searched the house of J. H. Brownlee, 319 Boren avenue, without first arming himself with a search warrant. Corbett appealed to the civil service commission, which suspended him for ninety days and reduced him to the rank of third-grade patrolman. Corbett then appealed to the superior court of King county, securing a judgment restoring him to his former position. The civil service commission appealed to the supreme court, which has now declared Corbett the victor. The court found no error in the record and confirmed the trial court's judgment, effectively granting Corbett the back pay of a detective from the date of his removal.
“Numerous assignments of error of a technical character were made but the higher court finds no error in the record.”
This 1903 dispute over police misconduct and the power of civil service commissions to discipline officers echoes ongoing modern debates regarding police accountability, search-and-seizure protocols, and the legal hurdles of holding law enforcement to departmental standards.
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