The Accidental Apprehension of an Asylum Escapee
A Kennewick police chief unwittingly jails a man he once knew, only to discover the stranger was a fugitive from the Medical Lake asylum.
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.
Would you know a sure-enough crazy man if you met one? Kennewick Chief of Police C. E. Copeland didn't. He caught an escaped inmate of the Medical Lake hospital for the insane and didn't know it. After Northern Pacific train No. 41 pulled out Monday night, the chief took into custody a stranger who was wandering around the depot platform and acting queerly. He recognized the man as Albert Valler, whom he had lodged in the city jail about a year ago, and gave him a berth in the same place. Two hours later, a traveling guard arrived on train 317 from Medical Lake and identified Valler, who had escaped about three months ago. Valler had been recognized Monday afternoon in Pasco by the Franklin County sheriff, who communicated with the asylum, but in the meantime, Valler had 'beat it' to Kennewick, where he was picked up by Mr. Copeland, who knew nothing of the Pasco incident.
“Would you know a sure-enough crazy man if you met one? Chief of Police C. E. Copeland didn't.”
This story highlights the rudimentary state of inter-agency communication and mental health transport in 1916. It serves as a reminder of how 'queer' behavior was frequently handled through the lens of criminality rather than care, a stark contrast to modern mental health service infrastructure.
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