Let’s remember when Seattle’s corrupt former police chief was killed in a drug store, on this day in 1901 (June 25)
Seattle’s disgraced police chief William Meredith was so corrupt he was forced out of his job in 1901 and he was out looking for blood, quite literally.
HistoryLink tells us:
On June 25, 1901, former Seattle police chief William L. Meredith (1869–1901) is gunned down by variety-theater owner John Considine (1868–1943) inside the G. O. Guy drugstore in Pioneer Square after he tries unsuccessfully to kill Considine. It’s a sensational shooting that’s Seattle’s lead story in 1901, and people come to Guy’s drugstore for years afterward to see holes left in the ceiling by a shotgun blast.
The PI explains further:
In 1901, Meredith accused Seattle entertainment mogul John Considine of having an illegal abortion performed for an alleged mistress.
Considine’s attorney rebutted the story, and the angry saloon owner said that under Meredith’s watch, officers were asking for bribes. City leaders asked that Meredith turn in his badge.
Furious, Meredith didn’t come empty-handed. He went looking for Considine with sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun, a revolver and a knife. He found Considine in a corner building on Second Avenue South, then Guy’s Drugstore, and drew his shotgun from under a brown-paper wrapping.
Meredith fired twice, but managed to inflict only a minor head wound.
Considine’s brother fractured the chief’s skull during the ensuing fight, and after breaking away from a policeman’s hold, John Considine grabbed the chief’s revolver and shot him three times.
Seattle’s recently resigned police chief was dead. Considine was later cleared of the shooting.
Amazing.
To read more:
