The bullet entered the chest of Seattle Police Officer William H. Cunliffe half an inch above the policeman’s star he wore on his uniform while on patrol June 17, 1911. With the bullet in his body, he steadied himself and fired three shots from his Colt revolver at the bandits who shot him, likely striking one of them before collapsing in the parking lane near the intersection of Columbia and Marion. He died in the hospital hours later.
At least that is how the June 17 evening edition of the Seattle Times told the story. The P.I. story from June 18 said Cunliffe was shot from within three feet, and that there must have been two suspects involved. Did Cunliffe fire before or after he was shot? His companions said he was a crack shot would not likely have missed unless he was injured.
But doctors said he was probably knocked off his feet when he was hit and the bullet pierced one lung, brushed his heart and was lodged in his other lung.
100 years after his unsolved killing, the site of the murder is buried within Swedish Medical Center’s First Hill campus. Washington COPS (“Concerns of Police Survivors,” an organization for people whose lives were affected by the killings of police officers in the state) is in the process of planning a small memorial sign for Officer Cunliffe near the site of the shooting.
That June day in 1911, witness W.O. Peterson had just disembarked from a streetcar at Broadway and Columbia when the firefight began. He only saw Cunliffe back into the street, fire several shots, then collapse.
Today, the intersection of Columbia and Marion where Officer Cunliffe was killed is in the midst of Swedish Medical Center’s First Hill Campus.
How and why the shooting occurred is still unknown. Police suspected that the people involved were involved in some other burglaries in the area, but they were never found guilty. Officer Cunliffe’s murder is the oldest unsolved police killing in the city’s history. Despite a manhunt so intense that every hotel guest in the city who arrived to their rooms past 2 a.m. that night was forced to explain why they were out so late, no answers were ever found.
Plans for the memorial, part of a series of markers planned for the region, have been delayed.
Back in the present day, the East Precinct is holding a picnic from 1-4 p.m. June 18 at their 12th and Pine headquarters. From the Blotter:
This Saturday June 18th, all East precinct residents are invited to the Picnic at the Precinct between Pike and Pine. There will be free food, dancing, entertainment, and activities for children. This is a great chance to meet your local officers and to take a precinct tour.
