Enoch Breece, a 45-year-old White male, served as a Seattle Police Officer for four years before his untimely death. His story is intertwined with that of a notorious escaped convict named Harry Tracy, who was associated with the Butch Cassidy Gang. The violent chain of events that led to Officer Breece's death began on June 9, 1902, when Tracy and a partner escaped from the Oregon State Penitentiary.
During their escape, they shot and killed three corrections officers and three civilians, sparking a massive manhunt.
The search for Tracy intensified, and on July 3, 1902, the fugitive set up an ambush near Bothell, Washington. There, he killed Detective Charles Raymond of the Everett Police Department and wounded a King County Sheriff's Deputy. Following this shootout, Tracy made his way to Seattle. He forced a man to drive him to the northern edge of Woodland Park, where he then entered the Van Horn residence, taking the occupants hostage while he ate a meal.
A young boy tipped off law enforcement that Tracy was inside the Van Horn home. King County Sheriff Edward Cudihee, along with Officer Breece and a civilian posseman named Cornelius Rowley, converged on the location. After a tense two-hour wait, Tracy exited the house and walked towards a buggy. Officer Breece confronted him, ordering him to show his hands. In a swift and fatal motion, Tracy turned and shot Officer Breece in the heart, killing him instantly at the scene. As Rowley ran towards Sheriff Cudihee, he got into a struggle with Tracy and was also shot and killed. Tracy managed to flee the scene on foot. The extensive manhunt for the killer continued for over a month until August 6, 1902, when Tracy, wounded in another shootout with law enforcement in Lincoln County, Washington, took his own life. Officer Breece was survived by his wife and three children.
