Tacoma’s Police Chief Under Fire
Accusations of public intoxication and failure to enforce gambling laws turn the city council into a battlefield.
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Tacoma's city council is expected to have a contentious session Saturday night as church groups and anti-church factions square off over the conduct of Chief of Police Zwickey. Reports allege that the Chief was intoxicated in public, and there are mounting complaints that he has failed to enforce Sunday-closing ordinances or shut down local gambling houses. Proprietor Hoffman of the Monogram saloon has reportedly forced the issue, seeking to compel Zwickey to either allow his gambling house to operate or shut down all competitors. While rumors circulated that Zwickey had been asked to resign, the Chief denied any such pressure when reached for comment.
“Proprietor Hoffman, of the Monogram saloon, has set out either to compel Zwickey to allow him to open a gambling-house or compel him to shut up all other like resorts.”
Police conduct, the enforcement of 'vice' laws, and the intersection of local politics with saloon-era business interests were standard fare in the late 19th-century Puget Sound city council chamber.
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