Seattle Justice: The Rise and Fall of the Police Payoff System in Seattle

by Christopher T. Bayley

This is the story of one of the youngest county prosecutors in the country whose mission was to finally end the system of vice and corruption that had infiltrated Seattle's police department, municipal departments, and even the mayor's office. In the late 1960s, Christopher T. Bayley was a young lawyer with a fire in his belly to break the back of Seattle’s police payoff system, which was built on licensing of acknowledged illegal activity known as the "tolerance policy." Against the odds, he defeated an entrenched incumbent to become King County Prosecutor (which includes Seattle). Six months into his first term, he indicted a number of prominent city and police officials. Bayley shows how vice and payoffs became rules of the game in Seattle, and what it took to finally clean up the city.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Government

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 20, 2015

Reviews

[Andy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christopher Bayley was elected King County Prosecutor in 1970, defeating longtime Prosecutor Charles Carroll. Bayley's book recounts how that election was part of but not the only cause of ending Seattle's "tolerance policy" for gambling which sadly included widespread payoffs to Seattle police officers and likely to Charles Carroll himself.
"Seattle Justice" first describes the history and extent of the tolerance policy and payoff system and how intermittent efforts at reform came to naught due to opposition or indifference from Seattle police leadership, the King County prosecutor's office and other community leaders. Ironically, the seeds of the eventual successful reform included investigative reporting from the Seattle Times(which normally backed Carroll and pooh poohed the payoffs) that started as investigation into tolerance of gay nightclubs(yes, times have changed) but the investigative reporting shifted focus when the reporters learned of the extent of the payoff system. Follow up and interest in these stories was uneven but were sparked in 1968 when the Seattle P-I followed gambling leader Ben Cichy on a late night visit to Charles Carroll and photographed Cichy handing Carroll a bag. Later, Cichy, among rumors that he may cooperate with investigators, was found drowned in five feet of water outside of his home, Carroll interceded in the handling of the autopsy which was eventually done by his brother in law without the presence of police officers.
Many Seattle police officers opposed the tolerance policies and payoffs--Bayley writes of how three assistant police chiefs , George Fuller, Eugen Corr, and Tony Gustin confronted police chief Frank Ramon who was squelching Seattle police investigations into gambling. The three not only to resign or face their public resignations or demotions but also briefed Seattle City council members. The three and others later cooperated with investigations which helped end the corruption but sadly their efforts for reform and justice cost them dearly in their professional careers.
Another key to the reforms was the selection of the US Attorney for Western Washington after Nixon was elected President. Dan Evans, Slade Gorton, and other moderate Republicans pushed for Whatcom Prosecutor Stan Pitkin while Carroll, Seattle's Republican congressman and the rest of the Republican establishment pushed for a lawyer with ties to the gambling interests. After Pitkin was selected federal authorities aggressively investigated the gambling
The final key to reform was Bayley's campaign against Charles Carroll who did not seriously prosecute gambling and payoff cases. Bayley details the campaign against Carroll who also lead the local Republican party and counted the city's establishment such as Bill Boeing as among his supporters. Bayley also describes the political nature of the office, deputy prosecutors could only be hired with approval from the Republican party and were expected to campaign on work time. However, the momentum and time were on Bayley's side. One example was that the Seattle police guild executive board endorsed Carroll but the rank and file officers revolted and forced a full membership vote which resulted in the rescinding of the endorsement. Events such as these lead to Bayley's victory
Bayley describes the prosecutions after he assumed office; they show problems with the grand jury system which resulted in overly broad indictments. The trials suffered from adverse rulings by Judges sympathetic to Carroll and mistakes made by prosecutors such as calling targets of investigations into grand juries/special inquiries. While the prosecutions were largely unsuccessful in court, they did send a message and combined with other reforms ended the tolerance policy and payoff system

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tells the tale of how Seattle law enforcement went from a culture of graft and corruption to . . . well, one currently under a use of force settlement with the DOJ after it found considerable evidence of racially biased policing. But not of corruption. So that’s cool. Or as Bill Gates Sr. blurbs “A thoughtful and detailed accounting of how a city can will itself to do better, from a major figure in bringing much-needed reform to Seattle.”

Bayley details the widespread corruption in Seattle police starting nearly from the beginning. It seems there was practically a fee schedule for turning a blind eye to illegality, so long as it was held within certain limits. In the 1940s, it crystalized into “The Tolerance Policy.” (11). Carroll, it seems, was the last prosecutor elected while the old system remained. I’m not sure from the book if Bayley thinks Carroll was insufficiently energetic in opposing it or benefited from it. He certainly hints the latter, see, e.g., 167, but never actually makes the accusation. It seems by the time Bayley challenged Carroll and the Tolerance Policy, the police department itself was moving away from regulating corruption towards a more professional model.

Nonetheless, according to Bayley, Carroll did not prosecute police or those in power, even when they richly deserved it, perpetuating corruption and misuse of power. Bayley, and Norm Maleng after him, tried, at least a few times, albeit without much success. Much of the book details Bayley’s initial attempt to prosecute corruption in government. It ends with a fizzle.

Bayley did file manslaughter charges against a white police officer, Robert Elmore, who killed a Black man named Leslie Allen Black as he fled. (193-94). Dave Boerner prosecuted the case, which tells me they took it seriously. Nonetheless, “[t]he all white jury took less than an hour to reach their verdict: not guilty. Elmore immediately returned to patrol duties.” (195).

Not too long afterwards, Norm Maleng charged a prison guard with choking a prisoner to death. The guard was acquitted, and the legislature responded by amending the deadly force statute in this area “that a ‘police officer shall not be held criminally liable for using deadly force without malice and with a good faith belief that such an act is justifiable’” – essentially ending prosecutions for police killings. (197). In the wake of the death of John T. Williams and Fergusan, our state is considering changing this standard now.

There are things about this book I found frustrating. First, we don’t have Carroll’s perspective. The man did a lot to shape the State Supreme Court that has put out some damn fine opinions restraining government power; it’s hard for me to believe he was as much of a problem as Bayley thought. (I may also be biased because I went to law school with Carroll’s granddaughter and thought she was awesome). Second, Bayley often seems to expect that we will share his judgment without trying to persuade us he’s right. For example, he describes a reforming mayor of Seattle, Gordon Clinton, who had tried to end both the Tolerance Policy and gambling. The legislature responded by legalizing minor forms of gambling. Bayley responded with contempt with the legislature. I don’t really get why. If the point is to get the corruption out of the system, bringing things into the light makes sense. Third, Bayley was shocked that the Supreme Court took 8 months to decide a case. (159). That court is not built for speed and there’s no institutional interest to make the sort of deep, expensive changes it would take to transform it. He refers to the supreme court as confirming guilt. (182). That’s not what the court does.

I learned quite a few things from this book. Among other things, I learned that in 1963, two men broke into the Secretary of State’s office and STOLE EIGHTY THOUSAND PETITION SIGNATURES on the anti-gambling referendum 34. (42). The state went ahead and held the election on the initiative, which might have been the right answer – the referendum failed to pass so it was never tested -- but the whole thing stuns me.

I learned that Metro was founded in part “[t]o avoid dysfunctional county government” in providing sewage treatment, parks, and transportation services after a home rule charter was voted down. (62). Sort of a weird historical blip; I did some work on the case that combined Metro back into King County.

I also learned that Dave Boerner did some heroic work at the prosecutor’s office. For example, when he realized that Renton Police were eavesdropping on attorney client communications, he prosecuted the captain of detectives. (180).

I learned that Justice Bob Utter, back when he was on the trial bench, dismissed some charges against some Black Panthers. “When he heard about this, Carroll called up Utter and cursed him over the phone, using a selection of obscenities that Bob Utter never publically revealed.” (186). Wish I’d known this in time to have asked Justice Utter about it.

I learned the great Lem Howell ran for King County prosecutor after Carroll declined to prosecute a police officer who shot a Black man, Larry Ward. Ward had been induced to plant a bomb by a police informant seeking leniency. (187, 193). The inquest jury found Ward was killed by “criminal means.” (187). I kinda love Lem Howell.

It ends with a heartfelt piece titled “The Death of a Woodcarver” about John T. Williams, shot to death on a city street by Ian Birk. I am glad Bayley is agonized by this too, and gratified he supports changing policing from the Warrior Model to the Guardian Model.

I think Bill Gates Sr. was right about this book.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not highly readable, but important. Bayley says at some point that history doesn't repeat, but it rhymes, and that's very true. While Seattle PD's current efforts at reform are a small, passing epilogue in this book, the detailed accounting of Seattle's police payoff system of the 50s and 60s, and what it ultimately took to bring it down is instructive regarding what it will actually take to make long term cultural change in SPD currently.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually enjoy reading about politics and people trying to fight against graft and improve the lives of others. So I picked this book to read. I am very sure that the author achieved everything he wanted to do when he set out to tell the history of the politics and crime in Seattle. He gave a background of how it all started. At first there was no police force but in the 1830s, three people were lynched and there were some anti-Chinese riots. But instead of paying them well for their important job of protection, they received a very low salary. That was the beginning of the intertwining of the police and crime. The police demanded their cut of the illegal liquor profits, prostitution and gambling money. They took pay offs from the businesses and demanded protection money.

The politicians were quiet about this and did not fight it. It was the status quo. There were periods
of reform but the crime always managed to survive. And the system and crime fed each other.

The author, Christopher Bayley and a few of his friends decided to fight the swamp of crime that even reached the Mayor of Seattle. He managed to defeat the King County Prosecutor and work on cleaning up Seattle. He indicted well know office holders who were not lifting a finger against the crime and high level police officials.

I did learn a lot of how crime and politics can grow intertwined. The author gave a detailed and well researched account of what happened. The only problem was that it was difficult to get through this book. Even though there were some very exciting events going on in this story it was almost as if it was written in a monotone. I did finish the book but it was not easy. Sometimes I would read a page and then come back to book later and found myself unable to remember the “who, what and where” of the story. It is difficult for me to pin down why the writing was like that. So I would say if you need to know what happened in Seattle in that period of time, this is an important book for you but it is definitely not book to read for pleasure.

I received this Advanced Reading Copy by making a selection from Amazon Vine books but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review. I also posted this review only on sites meant for reading not for selling.
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[Pamela Okano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with the reviewer who said not the best written book, but an important one. King County has had only four prosecutors since 1948 and all have been, somewhat surprisingly, Republican. The first of these, Charles O. Carroll, was drunk with political power and made the office a political machine, as are some prosecutors offices across the country even today. Deputy prosecutors were coerced into contributing to and otherwise assisting political campaigns. Vice operations were making payoffs to police on a regular basis, with no repercussions from the prosecutor. Enter the author of this book, Chris Bayley, whose sole courtroom experience up to that time had been limited to two district court cases, and I don't mean federal district court. Bayley started a long run that continues to this day of a King County prosecutors office run professionally rather than politically. Whatever the SPD's problems now, widespread payoffs are most likely no longer part of them, thanks to Bayley, a courageous US District Attorney, Stan Pitkin, and many others. A quick read well worth doing to understand what King County was once like.

[Nikky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in a droll and pedantic manner, there's a nugget of a story here buried deep beneath the narrative.

[Lara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh goodness.

Imagine having the idea to write a book about the incredible corrupt, scandalous police department that was Seattle. The book could be bursting with lurid details of payoffs, briber, illegal gambling, BOMBINGS, randoms, murders, prostitution, drugs, and alcohol. It would be incredible! It would be fast paced, fascinating, can't-put-it-down!

Instead, we're left with whatever the hell this is. The author, who for some reason I always thought was a woman, is just awful. Bless his heart, he cannot string a coherent thought together.

The book itself is not organized chronologically. It's not even organized by major character. Instead, it is a haphazard approach of, "Oh wait! I want to add in this random four page thought here!" The author even admits twice that he has gone off on a tangent that doesn't relate and several times he announces it prior to going down a strange path leading no where. There are hundreds of people mentioned in the book, far too many to keep track, but the author fully expect you to remember each one, only if mentioned for one sentence.

The saddest part was that throughout the book the author seems determined to prove his own self worth. He flat out says that he wanted to make a difference in the corruption throughout the city yet he admits every major case he brought was a failure. He only served eight years and the impression is left that it was not because of choice. He spends so much time attempting to show that he accomplished something, that people respected him, that he was clever and no one else was, but it falls entirely flat.

The book is terribly boring, lacking organization, and devoid of any outcome. Nothing is actually accomplished as the author himself admits in the afterward. It was all for not. And, frankly, that's about how I felt after reading the book. My efforts and time were wasted on this read.

[John Creighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of police and municipal corruption, and political reform and cultural change in 1960s and 70s Seattle. A city and county government sanctioning a “Tolerance Policy” for otherwise illegal gambling and vice seem to be foreign, quaint concepts in today’s Seattle. Yet the policy was in place for decades before Bayley and other reformers started asking questions and demanding change.

I hope more of Seattle’s political figures of that era see fit to write memoirs as the history of that era is both fascinating and instructive. Bayley does a good job of comparing and contrasting the issues with the police department’s culture of corruption 40 years ago with a police department culture today that does not do enough to engage in self examination and improvement, particularly over community relations and questions of the use of excessive force.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has a very obvious lens of "old Seattle" and it was very well-paced and easy to read. It felt as if some lively old timer had approached me at a coffee shop and started telling me a gripping story out of nowhere. The voice in this book is very strong.

[Henok Kidane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid, interesting read, if a little light on details at times. It's got an interesting enough premise, as evidenced by the title, but once the reader gets to the time period covering Bayley's time as prosecutor, the book gets oddly less interesting.

[Patrick Schultheis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Writing was perhaps a bit too cautious- it would have been nice to have gone more deeply into some of the characters.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 stars for the first half and 4 stars for the second half which was much more interesting to read.

[Meepspeeps · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book may have limited appeal to policing, law and justice junkies, and to Seattle fans. It's a somewhat dry memoir/history of corruption in the Seattle police department and prosecutor's office over a 30-year period just before WWII until the early 70s. I liked it for a couple reasons: (1) it demonstrates how difficult it is to eliminate corruption because money and power silence those in a position to be witnesses; (2) it included stories of historical figures I've met in different contexts, so I was enlightened by what they were doing in their early careers as recounted in this book.

[JulieK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew the outlines of the graft and payoffs but it was useful to get a clearer story, especially in terms of how it fit in with the long history of Seattle vice. Told as pretty straight reportage without much drama - probably not of much interest to anyone without a connection to Seattle.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Police Coruption

I really enjoyed this book because I'm from Seattle, grew up here . Many of the many events were unknown to me, especially since they weren't rosey.