Tuesday, February 2, 2010

1916 Seattle was a hotbed of sin when 2 officers were killed

Seattle police patrol driver John Weedin takes the wheel of the city's paddy wagon, commonly called the Black Maria, around 1906 while partner C.E. Murray prepares to hop on the back. The term Black Maria may have come a famous racehorse born in Harlem in 1826, whose exploits were widely celebrated. The paddy wagon, which also served as the city's only ambulance, acquired a kind of reputation as the bearer of bad luck.