The Unrest at City Hall
A contentious changing of the guard at the Seattle Police Department sees a new Chief installed and an immediate purge of the city’s captain ranks.
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.
The common council, at its meeting last night, elected O. D. Butterfield, license officer of the city, to be chief of police, vice J. C. Mitchell, removed. The election of Chief Mitchell's successor was the principal business of the session. Acting Chief Willard occupied the chief's position, and License Officer Butterfield sat outside the railing that separates the council and city officials from the spectators.
After routine business, there was an awkward pause, eventually broken by Councilman Niesz who moved that they proceed to the election of a chief of police. Mr. Imrie nominated License Officer O. D. Butterfield, praising him as 'honest, energetic, industrious, and inflexible in his adherence to principle.' Councilman Niesz seconded the motion, noting that Butterfield had stood second in the convention that nominated the present city government. The vote was unanimous.
Immediately after his election, Chief Butterfield rose and demanded, 'I would like to have two new captains appointed at once.' Despite protests from Councilman Reitze and others regarding the necessity of changing the existing leadership, the Council eventually conceded to the new Chief's demands. Butterfield then placed Patrolmen William M. James and Ed Kinsley in nomination for the vacant captaincies, and they were declared elected. Following the appointment, Chief Butterfield took the oath of office before City Clerk Ferris, stating, 'I intend to do my duty.'
“We don't want crookedness, and I believe that I am speaking the sentiments of the council when I say that this is what is desired of the chief of police, rather than to make sensational reading matter for the newspapers.”
This 1889 report captures a classic moment in Seattle’s perennial struggle with municipal governance and the desire for police 'professionalism' versus political patronage. Today’s debates over police accountability, department leadership, and the influence of the City Council over public safety echo the exact frustrations voiced by the 1889 Council regarding the 'sensational' management of the force.
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