A False Alarm on Second Street
Police rushed to a residence expecting a gruesome tragedy, only to find a quiet house and a domestic misunderstanding.
About 8 o'clock yesterday morning a telephone message was received at police headquarters stating that a man named Carter was cutting his wife's throat at 2418 Second street. Officers Poer and Willard jumped into the patrol and were soon at the place, where they expected to find a horrible tragedy enacted. Instead of that, it was found that Carter occupied the house by himself and that his wife and he had quarreled the day before and she had gone to a neighbor's. Carter said that he had not seen his wife for twenty-four hours, and had not offered her any violence and would not. Mrs. Carter had taken the children with her. Mrs. Carter corroborated the story when seen.
“Officers Poer and Willard jumped into the patrol and were soon at the place, where they expected to find a horrible tragedy enacted.”
False reports of domestic violence are a reminder of the early days of emergency response in Seattle, where police relied on tips that were sometimes used as tools for harassment or were simply based on misunderstandings.
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