Police Raid Swope Hotel in Opium Crackdown
The manager of the Swope Hotel faces court charges after authorities discover two men smoking opium on the premises.
Richard Swope, manager of the Swope Hotel, in which two colored men were found smoking opium Sunday night and arrested by the police, was arrested this afternoon on a warrant charging him with maintaining a house where persons were allowed to smoke opium. The case will be tried in police court Thursday afternoon.
“Richard Swope... was arrested this afternoon on a warrant charging him with maintaining a house where persons were allowed to smoke opium.”
This arrest highlights the early 20th-century policing of 'vice' and the racialized nature of drug enforcement. It captures the city's active role in criminalizing substance use and the responsibility placed on property owners in that era.
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