Motorcycle Cops in Seattle

A Brief History

When motorcycles arrived on the scene at the turn of the century, they weren't taken kindly to by general public. However, by 1909 the Seattle Police department had arranged to make good use of them in their law enforcement operations.

In early 1910 they purchased three 7 hp  Indians from Spinning's Bargain Store on Second Avenue.

By May of 1910 the squadron grew to nine. Under the lead of Officer Michael T. Powers, the crew was split evenly between the three prominent locations: Downtown Police Headquarters, the fire station at Nineteenth Ave & Columbia Street (Central District), and the fire station at Fifth Avenue & Galer Street (Upper Queen Anne). Each would work four hour shifts on their bikes looking for speeding autoists and the other four of their shift would be at the station responding to other incidents.

From left to right: James Robinson, H.T. Papke, A.G. Ford, D.M. Blaine, C.J. Byers, Acting Sergeant Lee Dagner, J.L. Jackson, P.G. Clay, E.F. Hawkinson and L.C. Gay. Photo from the Seattle Times archive

Unlike most automobiles on the market, the motorcycles used by the police force were fast – very fast. With no flashing lights on board, the officer would simply overtake a car and signal the driver to pull over once out front.

The first known incident of a motorcycle officer tending to a speeding autoist was that involving driver Nathanel Paschall, who was stopped by officer Lee Dagner for driving his car in excess of 22 mph. A typical speed limit in Seattle back then was 8 mph on the road and 4 mph in the intersections, so this was clearly an extreme case of reckless driving. That being the case, a simple citation just wouldn't do and instead Paschell was arrested, sent to jail and later released on his own personal recognizance. A similar instance followed with a driver named Frank Taylor in the Belltown area.

The question is, how did Dagner take these two into custody? With no radios back then, he could not have called for backup. It's unlikely he put the drivers on the back of his bike. The way he'd do it was to escort them to the station for booking, he on his bike and they in the car. For unruly types he'd actually handcuff one of their hands to the steering wheel.

How about today?

Today the Seattle Police Department has bumped up their squadron from nine to over forty motor officers. The officers are still routinely looking for speeding autoists, however citations are more the norm than arrests. They are also called on to escort dignitaries through the city such as when President Obama visited Seattle in late 2010, 100 years later.

The bikes have changed through the years. While the original bikes were simply stock units without modifications, the bikes used today are Harley-Davidsons that are outfitted and serviced by Downtown Harley-Davidson in Renton through the life of the unit.

Attire has changed somewhat through the years, but stuck to many of the original traditions. It wasn't until recently that Officer John Abraham was able to push through new rules allowing the officers to wear much more protective gear and full face flip-up helmets.

Research for this article was done by Tom Samuelsen and Tom Mehren of the Pacific Northwest Museum of Motorcycling. Thanks to Jim Ritter, head of the Seattle Police Department Museum and John Abraham of the SPD 2010 motor patrol.

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