Special Police Officer David M. Sires

David M. Sires

Special Police Officer David Sires was shot and killed while patrolling the area of Occidental Street and Washington Street.

He was attempting to arrest a male who had been kicked out of a saloon. This man then began firing a revolver into the ground. After being shot, Officer Sires was able to identify the man before he died.

The male was arrested but he was lynched by an angry mob who broke into the jail while he was awaiting trial. During the lynching, Sheriff Louis Wyckoff of the King County Sheriff's Department suffered a fatal heart attack. He and his deputies had been attacked by the mob and held down while the prisoners were hung.

Officer Sires was the first Seattle police officer to be killed in the line of duty. He had served with his Seattle Police Department for two years and was survived by his wife, two daughters, and six siblings. He is buried at Lake View Cemetery in Seattle.