The War on the Wharf: Seattle’s Police Chief and the Mayor’s Midnight Gambit

When Chief Mitchell came down from lunch at 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon, he was feeling in a particularly good humor and laughed at the charges made against him by the mayor and members of the council. He held a bunch of city warrants in his hand, which he tapped significantly as he remarked, 'We will see who it is that is anxious to have the city ordinances concerning gambling enforced.' A few moments later, the warrants were turned over to Captain L.W. Peer, and by four o'clock, six men had appeared before Police Judge John P. Miller to answer to the charge of keeping gaming houses. They all entered pleas of guilty and paid fines of $50 each. Later in the day, John Mayher was brought into court and dropped $50 more into the city’s exchequer. 'Now that’s the way I conduct a raid,' said Chief Mitchell. 'There has been no raid, no big force of deputies, no trouble or blow, but the money is there.' About 6 o'clock, a messenger boy handed him a letter in a blue envelope. It was from Mayor Moran, suspending Mr. Mitchell from the office of chief of police until after the next meeting of the council. Mayor Moran justified his action by referring to the city charter, which allows the mayor to suspend officers for 'misfeasance in office and collusion with gamblers.' Chief Mitchell, however, remained defiant, remarking that he was still the chief of police, Mayor Moran to the contrary notwithstanding.