A Shootout in Magnolia

Sadly, this won’t be my last post about a murdered Seattle cop. On the morning of January 14, 1921, Seattle Police Sergeant Edward Herald and Officer Volney Stevens were dispatched from the Ballard Station at 22nd and Ballard Way (The building was demolished in 1967 but the original bell tower is in a park on the site) to investigate a report of some suspicious men at a lookout on Magnolia Hill. (The hill sits on Puget Sound) 

Officer Stevens

The officers rolled up to a car containing four men near 32nd and West Galer St. Herald got out of his car to speak to the men. Creighton Dodge 21, and C.A. Brown 20, jumped out of the car and grabbed him. Stevens exited his police car and engaged the suspects in a gun battle.

Park on old City Building site

Ward Daniels 19, and Louis Madsen 18, exited the suspect’s car and joined the fight. Stevens was hit twice and fell to the ground. The suspect’s car wouldn’t start, so they took Herald hostage and stole his police car. Herald pleaded with the men to take them back to assist Stevens. in 1921, their quickest way off the hill was Dravus Street, a mile and a half north of their location. (Magnolia is a peninsula)

Lookout at 32nd and Galer

They dropped down Dravus but when they got to Elliott Avenue, they were met with an open Ballard Bridge. (Oh, the irony. That bridge is a pain in the ass.) They turned around and went back to the lookout and shoved Herald out of the car next to Stevens. The suspects were definitely painted into a corner. They headed back down the hill toward Dravus but decided to stop at the home of Anna Hundertruaeck at 2340 West Newton. They tried to convince her that they were sick and needed a place to stay. (Oh, OK, no problem) She slammed the door and called the police.

2340 West Newton

The suspects fled that location and made their way south, down to the beach at Smith Cove at the bottom of Magnolia. They stole a rowboat and intended to go downtown. Just as they were shoving off, officers arrived and ordered them to stop and return to shore. Nobody, not even these idiots would be dumb enough to jump into the bay in January. They were hauled in and booked for murder. Officer Stevens died that same day at the hospital.

Smith Cove on Elliott Bay

The four men were implicated in armed robberies in Burlington, Enumclaw, Marysville, Bellingham, and Arlington. Creighton Dodge, wounded in the gunfight by Officer Stevens, died on January 19th. He confessed to having fired the shot which killed Officer Stevens. In February 1921, Daniels, Brown, and Madsen (just babies) were all convicted of Stevens' murder and were sentenced to life in prison at the Big House in Walla Walla. RIP Officer Stevens.