This day in history: A fatal police shooting drew counter-protestors in support of the blue

From 1975: A small number of demonstrators gathered at the Spokane County Courthouse to “show police we are behind them.”

This was a counter-demonstration, in contrast to earlier protests related to the fatal police shooting of Craig S. Jordan. An officer had shot him in the back during a burglary call in the mistaken impression that Jordan had been carrying a gun.

The signs at this protest included, “Why Support Burglars?” and “Hats Off to Our Police.” The demonstrators called themselves Citizens for Police Protection.

In related news, the head of the local NAACP called for an “impartial, court-supervised inquest” into the shooting.

“Beyond an examination of this tragedy, we want the policies of the Spokane Police Department examined publicly,” he said.

From 1925: A Gonzaga University team was getting rare national attention, but this was for football, not basketball.

“No less an authority than Grantland Rice, writing in the current issue of Collier’s, lists the Spokane contest as one of 17 important games to be played tomorrow on the nation’s gridirons,” the Spokane Chronicle reported.

Gonzaga was playing Washington State College (now University). The game would be preceded by a giant pep rally and a parade of marching bands and students through Spokane’s downtown.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1945: The Nuremberg war trials begin as 24 Nazi leaders are put on trial before judges representing the victorious Allied powers.