End of Watch: 10/16/1881
Agency: Seattle Police Department
County: King County
The Washington Territorial Legislature gave the Town of Seattle its first charter in 1869. The first ordinance passed by the seven-member Seattle Common Council vested the power of arrest in the City Marshal. In archived documents, some written by people living in Seattle in 1881, David Sires is referred to as town marshal, police officer, and patrolman. In 1880, the population of Seattle was 3,553 people.
During the hours of darkness on October 12, 1881, Officer David M. Sires was in a saloon near 2nd Ave. and Washington Street. James Smith owned the saloon, and he also owned the Bijou Theatre. It is unknown if Officer Sires was on-duty or off-duty, but he was not in uniform. Shots were fired outside the saloon, and Officer Sires went to investigate. Several people outside the saloon pointed to a man, Benjamin Payne, as the person who had fired the shots. Officer Sires went after Payne. As the two got to 3rd Ave. and Mill St. (Yesler), Payne fired one shot. The bullet struck Sires in the throat, and he fell to the street. Payne ran away. Nobody witnessed the shooting, but witnesses did identify Payne as the man who was firing shots in the street. Officer Jim Woolery later located and arrested Payne who was unarmed. Payne was jailed. He stated the shooting was an accident.
Officer Sires was taken to the original Occidental Hotel located at what is now 1st Ave. and Yesler. He was attended and treated by Dr. E. L. Smith and Dr. Rufus Willard. Sires drifted in and out of consciousness, but he did say that he felt partly responsible because he had not identified himself to Payne as a police officer. Sires was not able to identify his assailant. David Sires died four later on October 16, 1881.
David Sires was survived by his wife, Rebecca, daughter, Louisa, and five grandchildren. His daughter, Lottie, preceded him in death. She died in 1880 at the age of 32. Officer Sires was buried at Lake View Cemetery. David Sires was a Mason. His tombstone bears the Masonic symbol.
On January 18, 1882, two men, arrested for the murder of respected Seattle businessman George B. Reynolds, were arraigned before a judge at Yesler Hall located at Front Street (1st Avenue) and Cherry Street. Around 1:00 p.m., the judge announced there was sufficient evidence to hold the men for trial. Immediately, a crowd overpowered the officers guarding the prisoners, and took the two men to the 200 block of Cherry Street where they were lynched in front of a crowd estimated at 2,000 people. About twenty minutes later, a group of about 400 men broke into the jail and seized Benjamin Payne. He was marched to the 200 block of Cherry St. and promptly lynched.