The Unceremonious Dismissal of Chief Woolery
A police chief accused of serious misconduct walks away without a hearing, leaving Seattle residents bewildered and angry.
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.
A feeling of mingled astonishment and indignation pervades this community at the wretched outcome of the investigation of Chief Woolery. That he has proved himself unworthy of the trust reposed to him is generally known, and that the truth of most serious charges against him could easily be established is firmly and generally believed. Charges were preferred, but no investigation followed, and, after dallying over the matter a month or more, they were dismissed. Happily for the people, the time of this unseemly ornament to the police force is about to expire by limitation, and with the expiration of another month, they will be permanently relieved of him.
“A feeling of mingled astonishment and indignation pervades this community at the wretched outcome of the investigation of Chief Woolery.”
This 1885 account of a police chief escaping accountability via procedural delays and administrative inaction captures a frustration that remains a central pillar of Seattle's modern civic dialogue. The cycle of 'preferring charges' only to have them quietly dropped mirrors modern struggles with police oversight and the slow, often opaque nature of municipal accountability.
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