The Ballard Marshal’s Trial
A former Ballard policeman stands trial for the killing of a man during an arrest gone wrong.
The trial of Thomas Henry for murder in the second degree was begun yesterday in Judge Humes' court. The alleged crime was committed June 28 while Henry was a policeman at Ballard, and consisted in his killing H. Hendrickson, who was resisting arrest for disorderly conduct. The prosecution is trying to prove that there was no provocation for the shooting; that Hendrickson merely defied Henry to shoot, and that he did shoot. The defense will attempt to show that Hendrickson and another man had beaten and abused the officer earlier in the evening, and were about to do so again, and that Henry shot in self-defense.
“The prosecution is trying to prove that there was no provocation for the shooting; that Hendrickson merely defied Henry to shoot, and that he did shoot.”
Police use of force and the boundaries of legal self-defense remain flashpoints in Seattle civic discourse, echoing this 1891 trial of a Ballard constable.
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