Man murdered for walking down the street minding his own business

[Bullion_Bob]

Native American man shot in the back 4 times for walking down the street with a legal 3 inch knife while carving a block of wood.

"Rick says his brother was so accustomed to carving that he would whittle away while talking. "My dad could walk down the street and carve,"

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/john%20williams%20woodcarver.jpg

check "related content" under the story
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/12/video_released_of_seattle_poli.php

Starts at 48 seconds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fctDFORJKQ&feature=player_embedded

Turns out he was a pretty accomplished wood carver.

http://img.allvoices.com/thumbs/event/598/486/63912167-john-williams.jpg
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/williams%20totem.jpg

[AOW]

Yep, just a harmless drunk living on the streets and wanting to be left alone. The cops had numerous contacts with him in the weeks leading up to this execution so they knew what he was about and decided to put him out of their misery.

[DMac]

Brutally, cowardly, murdered.

Tragic.

[PatColo]

http://www.henrymakow.com/do_cops_need_to_use_lethal_for.html

the reader comments at Makow's site are always VG too

[Rebel Yarr]

Yeah just read that story ...and check this one out....

The comments show how people are feeling about the police state. People are reading between the lines and see - this was a couple arguing at their own house....no need for cop to escalate the situation.
------------

Bremerton Officer Shoots and Kills Great Dane During Traffic Stop Scuffle

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/08/bremerton_officer_shoots_and_k.php

A man and a woman in Bremerton are down one beloved family pet this morning, after an alleged drunken altercation with an officer last night ended with the shooting death of a Great Dane.

It all started when a sergeant on patrol noticed the couple get out of their car and start arguing.

When the cop approached the pair he noticed that the man, a 22-year-old who'd been driving, seemed drunk. When he took him aside to start a DUI investigation, the man resisted.

Eventually a fight broke out. According to Bremerton police, it was two-on-one, with both the man and his 23-year-old girlfriend assaulting the cop.

The officer used both of his Taser cartridges on the man. But they apparently didn't put him down for long. Then, somehow, the couple's Great Dane managed to get out of the house (Bremerton police still aren't sure if the dog was let out or forced open the door on its own) and latched itself onto the cop's upper arm.

Out of non-lethal options, the officer shot the dog twice, killing it. Soon after, back-up arrived. The man was transported to the police station, but not before allegedly assaulting the officer doing the transporting.

The officer was taken to a nearby hospital for the bite wounds, treated and released. Daily Weekly asked Bremerton police for details or pictures of his injuries, but we got denied because the investigation is still ongoing.

The man has been charged with resisting arrest, DUI and two counts of third-degree assault. His girlfriend got the same, minus one of the assault counts and the DUI.
Tags:

[Book]

John T. Williams, a Native American carver who was deaf, alcoholic and homeless. He was shot brandishing a 3-inch carving knife.

Definition of BRANDISH
transitive verb

1) to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly

2) to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner

:oo-->


Man murdered for walking down the street minding his own business

[Serpo]

7 seconds from warning until DEATH

http://www.king5.com/video?id=112106374&sec=548792

[midnight rambler]

John T. Williams, a Native American carver who was deaf, alcoholic and homeless. He was shot brandishing a 3-inch carving knife.

Definition of BRANDISH
transitive verb

1) to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly

2) to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner

:oo-->


Man murdered for walking down the street minding his own business




WTF is wrong with you?!?!? You ALWAYS take the side of the state actors, no matter how egregious their actions.

[midnight rambler]

I like the way:

The cop who did the shooting very effectively uses Sport Talk radio to cover up the audio on his car's VDR

The same cop ditches his personal on body mic in his car at 7:40 (you can see in the upper right of the frame where it says "L M1M2" meaning light bar, mic 1, and mic 2 on)

No less than 10 cops do the "we're here to help you cover your ass" (guns drawn! and saying "You did the right thing") swarm

[Twisted Titan]

Whenever The cops show up its bad business and in this case it was FATAL BUSINESS

[Joe King]

John T. Williams, a Native American carver who was deaf, alcoholic and homeless. He was shot brandishing a 3-inch carving knife.

Definition of BRANDISH
transitive verb

1) to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly

2) to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner

:oo-->


Man murdered for walking down the street minding his own business


When the officer drove up and got out of the car, he was reacting to what he'd already seen. A guy walking straight in a marked crosswalk using a pocket knife to whittle on a piece of wood.

He appeared neither drunk or as a threat, but the officer reacted as though he'd seen something different.

Besides, since the shooting happened off camera, I can just as easily say that he didn't brandish the knife because at this point the officer can say anything he wants and there's no one able to refute it.
i.e. it's in his own best interest to lie. He has everything to lose by saying anything else.

[Twisted Titan]

John T. Williams, a Native American carver who was deaf, alcoholic and homeless. He was shot brandishing a 3-inch carving knife.

Definition of BRANDISH
transitive verb

1) to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly

2) to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner

:oo-->


Man murdered for walking down the street minding his own business


When the officer drove up and got out of the car, he was reacting to what he'd already seen. A guy walking straight in a marked crosswalk using a pocket knife to whittle on a piece of wood.

He appeared neither drunk or as a threat, but the officer reacted as though he'd seen something different.

Besides, since the shooting happened off camera, I can just as easily say that he didn't brandish the knife because at this point the officer can say anything he wants and there's no one able to refute it.
i.e. it's in his own best interest to lie. He has everything to lose by saying anything else.



And he will sleep well knowing that he did lie and will continue to get paid and protected by the state.

He will be embolded the next time he decideds to "fight crime"

[Joe King]

The article I saw said he's lost his badge and gun and that it appears his actions weren't justified.

Has that info changed?

[Awoke]

John T. Williams, a Native American carver who was deaf, alcoholic and homeless. He was shot brandishing a 3-inch carving knife.

Definition of BRANDISH
transitive verb

1) to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly

2) to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner

:oo-->


Man murdered for walking down the street minding his own business




WTF is wrong with you?!?!? You ALWAYS take the side of the state actors, no matter how egregious their actions.


I think what Book is trying to say is that the man was not brandishing the knife at all. He was carving a piece of wood, adn minding his own business.
Yet the word Brandishing makes it sound as if the man was either:

1) shaking or waving a weapon menacingly

2) exhibiting the knife in an ostentatious or aggressive manner

[Joe King]

These days it seems most people tend to think that "brandishing" means simply to have a weapon at all.

[mrnhtbr2232]

I'm the police, you're not, do as I say this instant or I can kill you. Time's up. Tap tap tap tap. This is reality. Not glam TV that portrays the police as a cadre of heroes. They are sanctioned with omnipotent powers over the rest of us and they run with it. More often than not that translates into enforcement need not be bothered with circumstance because, after all, it's all about me and my partner going home at the end of the day over your dead body. Cops no longer have a role as protectors they should be avoided like the plague.

[mike88]

Avoid em, they are a dangerous gang with good organization.

[Cebu_4_2]

Shooting a sitting duck can land you some serious prison time.

[woodman]

John T. Williams, a Native American carver who was deaf, alcoholic and homeless. He was shot brandishing a 3-inch carving knife.

Definition of BRANDISH
transitive verb

1) to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly

2) to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner

:oo-->


Man murdered for walking down the street minding his own business




Since Book won't reply, I'll say what I get out of his post. He believes the cops story. The 3 inch whittling blade caused the cop so much concern for the public welfare that he was compelled to put, not one, but four bullets into this dangerous public menace. Did I get it right Book?

[Serpo]

I'm the police, you're not, do as I say this instant or I can kill you. Time's up. Tap tap tap tap. This is reality. Not glam TV that portrays the police as a cadre of heroes. They are sanctioned with omnipotent powers over the rest of us and they run with it. More often than not that translates into enforcement need not be bothered with circumstance because, after all, it's all about me and my partner going home at the end of the day over your dead body. Cops no longer have a role as protectors they should be avoided like the plague.


Shoot you in the back even

[Book]

The 3 inch whittling blade caused the cop so much concern for the public welfare that he was compelled...



http://www.dlsports.com/knife_danger/knife_danger_3_small.jpg

http://www.fpk11a.com/knife_wound__2.jpg

http://eglobalmed.com/core/PathGuy/www.pathguy.com/_tdemark/0050.jpg

Three inch blade.

:oo-->

[zap]

Damn Book, give a little warning first.

[Horn]

Damn Book, give a little warning first.


I don't know how people watch the hip surgery replacement crap on T.V.

Shite eeks me.

[Book]

John T. Williams, a Native American carver who was deaf, alcoholic and homeless. He was shot brandishing a 3-inch carving knife.

Definition of BRANDISH
transitive verb

1) to shake or wave (as a weapon) menacingly

2) to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner

:oo-->


Man murdered for walking down the street minding his own business



WTF is wrong with you?!?!? You ALWAYS take the side of the state actors, no matter how egregious their actions.


I think what Book is trying to say is that the man was not brandishing the knife at all. He was carving a piece of wood, and minding his own business. Yet the word Brandishing makes it sound as if the man was either:

1) shaking or waving a weapon menacingly

2) exhibiting the knife in an ostentatious or aggressive manner



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fctDFORJKQ

Obvious from this video that the guy was not "brandishing" and was no threat to the police officer.

|--0--|

[Libertytree]

WTF!!!!!???? The cop's a sorry ass POS.

Brandishing....I think that what the cops were doing that showed up afterwards, most of them either had their hand on their pistol or drew it out as soon as they got there. That whole scene is just too surreal. I think it gives a whole new meaning to keep and bear arms, 24/7.

[woodman]

The 3 inch whittling blade caused the cop so much concern for the public welfare that he was compelled...



http://www.dlsports.com/knife_danger/knife_danger_3_small.jpg

http://www.fpk11a.com/knife_wound__2.jpg




I guess we should outlaw all blades including box cutters because people like Book are easily scared and in need of the big, strong police man to protect them from the dangerous people all around them.

Any one with a little speed and strength can kill another with all sorts of every day items. a pencil can be a lethal weapon.

this cop got out of his car with a hard-on to use his gun. I wonder if his department is backing him up. Any one have any further info on this?

http://eglobalmed.com/core/PathGuy/www.pathguy.com/_tdemark/0050.jpg

Three inch blade.

:oo-->

[Serpo]

The 3 inch whittling blade caused the cop so much concern for the public welfare that he was compelled...



http://www.dlsports.com/knife_danger/knife_danger_3_small.jpg

http://www.fpk11a.com/knife_wound__2.jpg




I guess we should outlaw all blades including box cutters because people like Book are easily scared and in need of the big, strong police man to protect them from the dangerous people all around them.

Any one with a little speed and strength can kill another with all sorts of every day items. a pencil can be a lethal weapon.

this cop got out of his car with a hard-on to use his gun. I wonder if his department is backing him up. Any one have any further info on this?

http://eglobalmed.com/core/PathGuy/www.pathguy.com/_tdemark/0050.jpg

Three inch blade.

:oo-->



It was plain to see the guy was carving a piece of wood with his knife

[Book]

It was plain to see the guy was carving a piece of wood with his knife.



Yep...quite clear in the video. Seven seconds later he was shot dead.

[Awoke]

Wow, I seriously can't imagine how they will get away with this, even in a jewish owned court.

That guy was totally harmless and minding his own business. Incredible.

[Horn]

Looks like he was just lowly insecure bum.

We have to meet force with equal force though.

[SilverMagnet]

Looks like he was just lowly insecure bum.



Yes, I'm not sure how he got that badge.

[AOW]

SURPRISE!!!!!!! >:(


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014241632_policeshooting17m.html

Prosecutor: No charges against Seattle officer who shot woodcarver
Criminal charges will not be filed against Seattle police Officer Ian Birk in the fatal shooting of woodcarver John T. Williams, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced Wednesday morning.

By Steve Miletich and Jennifer Sullivan

Seattle Times staff reporters

PREV 1 of 4 NEXT


MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Criminal charges will not be filed against Seattle police Officer Ian Birk in the fatal shooting of woodcarver John T. Williams, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced Wednesday mornin

Criminal charges will not be filed against Seattle police Officer Ian Birk in the fatal shooting of woodcarver John T. Williams, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced Wednesday morning.

Satterberg said he was troubled by some of Birk's actions, including his decision to confront Williams and the quick decision to open fire. But he said that there was no evidence to show that the officer acted with malice or criminal intent, elements required to bring charges.

Citing last month's inquest into the shooting, Satterberg said he has determined that Birk believed Williams was a threat when he shot him near downtown Seattle on Aug. 30. Satterberg reviewed the inquest jury's findings as well as Birk's testimony in reaching his decision, he said during a news conference.

While saying Birk had "committed serious tactical errors" in the confrontation, Satterberg acknowledged state law gives police more protection against prosecution than citizens in the use of deadly force. He said there was no evidence to "overcome" the law.

A short time later, Seattle Police Chief John Diaz announced during a news conference that the department's Firearms Review Board has found the shooting was not justified. He said Williams did not pose a serious threat of harm and use of a firearm was not justified, according to the board's findings.

The board's four voting members unanimously determined the shooting was "outside of [the department's] policies, tactics and training," according to the board's report written by Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer, a member of the board.

The board's conclusion allows the Police Department to begin internal proceedings that could lead to Birk's firing or other discipline. The board recommended moving forward with the proceedings as quickly as possible.

Diaz said he believed the process would be completed by mid-March.

In October, the board reached a preliminary decision that the shooting was unjustified.

Birk has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting.

Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell called for Birk's discipline.

"Officer Birk should be disciplined to the fullest extent provided under the internal process used by the City of Seattle," he said in a statement "Our recruitment and training of police officers must prevent this type of tragedy from occurring again. We must adopt a zero tolerance culture relative to the unlawful use of force."


Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the prosecutor's decision.

Reacting to Satterberg's ruling, William's brother, Harvey Williams, 58, said he had already made up his mind to forgive Birk for the shooting, for the sake of his own healing. He wasn't surprised by Wednesday's announcement.

"I didn't really expect anything to happen. I didn't expect charges. The laws protect anyone in office. Nothing has changed," he said.

He said Williams' family plans to file a civil suit.

"It is like he is getting away with murder," said Nancy Williams, one of John Williams' sisters in Vancouver, B.C. "He's getting away with it. He is going to have a smirk on his face and he is going to go crazy with that gun, thinking he can get away with it. It really ticks me off. It shouldn't end that way."

Prosecutors have been confronted with a steep legal hurdle in deciding whether to charge Birk with murder or manslaughter, Satterberg said. State law shields police officers from criminal prosecution when they claim they used deadly force in self-defense, unless it can be shown they acted with malice and a lack of good faith.

Satterberg said that given the law, a jury would likely find Birk not guilty if he was criminally charged with the shooting.

He acknowledged that reaction to the shooting has sparked a "deep divide" in the community as well as the Police Department.

"But we do not, and we legally cannot, put police officers on trial for murder or send them to prison for exercising their discretion to use deadly force in good faith and without malice, however tragic the outcome may be," Satterberg said.

The decision not to file criminal charges comes about a month after a King County inquest jury reached mixed findings on the shooting during a fact-finding proceeding.

Four of eight jurors found that Birk wasn't facing an imminent threat when he fatally shot Williams, and that he didn't give Williams sufficient time to put down a knife he was carrying during their confrontation on a Seattle sidewalk.

One juror found that Birk faced a threat and gave Williams sufficient time, while three others answered "unknown."

Four jurors determined Birk believed he was in danger when he encountered Williams, while four others answered "unknown."

The findings regarding the actual threat to Birk stand in contrast to previous King County inquest decisions, in which jurors have almost always upheld the actions of police officers involved in deadly shootings.

Inquest jurors weren't asked to weigh whether Birk was guilty or innocent of wrongdoing in the shooting.

The results were reviewed by the King County Prosecutor's Office to help determine whether to file criminal charges.

Even before the inquest, Birk, 27, who joined the department in July 2008, had been stripped of his gun and badge as a result of the preliminary finding by the Firearms Review Board and Diaz, the police chief, that the shooting was unjustified, sources said. The board waited to make a final decision until after the inquest.

The board, made up of Kimerer, two captains and a lieutenant, heard testimony in October from civilian witnesses and police investigators. One member of the board sat in on the inquest. The board determines if officer shootings fall within department policies and procedures. The inquest jury sifted through conflicting testimony and two patrol-car videos and audio that captured some elements of the confrontation at Boren Avenue and Howell Street but not the shooting itself. The jury's answers did not have to be unanimous.

According to evidence presented during the inquest, about four seconds elapsed between the time Birk issued his first order to Williams to put down the knife he was carrying and when the officer opened fire.

The shooting occurred after Birk saw Williams cross the street holding a flat piece of wood and a knife with a 3-inch blade. Williams, a member of Canada's First Nations people, used the knife for carving, according to his family.

Birk got out of his patrol car and followed Williams onto the sidewalk. Birk shouted at Williams to get his attention and ordered him three times to put down the knife. Birk fired when Williams didn't respond, hitting him four times.

Birk testified during the inquest that he was initially concerned because Williams showed signs of impairment while carrying a knife. He said when he sought to question Williams, Williams turned toward him with a "very stern, very serious, very confrontational look on his face."

Birk told jurors Williams "still had the knife out and [was in] a very confrontational posture" when he opened fire.

Williams, a chronic inebriate, had a blood-alcohol level measured during his autopsy at 0.18 percent, above the 0.08 percent level at which a driver is considered to be legally drunk.

During the inquest, two witnesses contradicted Birk, saying they didn't see Williams do anything threatening before he was shot.

Birk testified that shortly after the shooting he told a witness, a responding officer and a detective that Williams had not complied with his order to put down the knife. He acknowledged that, at that time, he did not tell them that Williams had threatened him.

It wasn't until hours later, Birk testified, that he provided a detailed written statement alleging that Williams had menacingly displayed the knife and "pre-attack indicators."

Williams' knife was found folded in the closed position after the shooting.

Jurors unanimously found that Williams was carrying an open knife when first seen by Birk. But four answered "no" and four "unknown" when asked if the blade was open when Birk fired.

In reviewing the case, prosecutors had various options: charging Birk with second-degree murder, first-degree reckless manslaughter, second-degree negligent manslaughter, or declining to bring a charge.

A second-degree-murder charge would require prosecutors to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Birk intended to unlawfully kill Williams, or that Birk intentionally and unlawfully assaulted Williams, causing his death.

Manslaughter requires less proof. Prosecutors must show only that reckless or negligent conduct caused a death, although they still must do so beyond a reasonable doubt.

Federal prosecutors have been monitoring the case and could consider bringing a criminal civil-rights case against Birk. But they must show willful criminal conduct to obtain a conviction.

An assistant U.S. attorney in Seattle watched some of the inquest proceedings, including Birk's testimony.

The shooting of Williams and other incidents have prompted the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and 34 community groups to call on the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the Seattle Police Department's practices. Seattle officers have been under scrutiny over allegations of improper use of force in several incidents in the past year, particularly in dealings with minorities.

The Justice Department has since opened a preliminary review of the department

[Ares]

Gee what a surprise. Officer flat our murders someone for no reason and the "law" shields him from his crime.

Land of the free and home of the brave indeed. :sarc: :oo-->

[nunaem]

Ever notice when police kill someone it's reported that they just 'shot' them... then the victim just happened to die afterwards. The word 'kill' rarely if ever appears. 'Murder' never appears in an article.

Oh, I forgot, the guns are the ones that kill people, police just shoot people.

[tekrunner]

Gee what a surprise. Officer flat our murders someone for no reason and the "law" shields him from his crime.

Land of the free and home of the brave indeed. :sarc: :oo-->



Don't get too sarcastic. This is a region where cops have been getting assassinated lately for far less then murder. You may remember it was Robert Monfort about a year ago who waged a one man war against the police department after a young girl got the crap beaten out of her by a couple cops in juvi.
This is also the same region where Maurice Clemens assassinated those four cops at a Tully's coffee shop. Another cop got ambushed about a year ago too.

Point is, not a good time to be a cop in the Seattle area. Also, just read the comments in the article. People are pissed and you reap what you sow SPD.

Rallies planned for tonight. Could get interesting.

[SWRichmond]

007, license to kill.

[Awoke]

Don't get too sarcastic. This is a region where cops have been getting assassinated lately for far less then murder. You may remember it was Robert Monfort about a year ago who waged a one man war against the police department after a young girl got the crap beaten out of her by a couple cops in juvi.


And?



This is also the same region where Maurice Clemens assassinated those four cops at a Tully's coffee shop. Another cop got ambushed about a year ago too.


For no reason?



Point is, not a good time to be a cop in the Seattle area. Also, just read the comments in the article. People are pissed and you reap what you sow SPD.


You're not defending this murder, are you?

[tekrunner]

Don't get too sarcastic. This is a region where cops have been getting assassinated lately for far less then murder. You may remember it was Robert Monfort about a year ago who waged a one man war against the police department after a young girl got the crap beaten out of her by a couple cops in juvi.


And?

And a leaderless resistor (Robert Monfort) took it upon himself to doll out justice when city officials wouldn't. He set vehicles on fire in the city storage yard to draw in law enforcement near the explosives he'd set. Later he killed a cop in a driveby.



This is also the same region where Maurice Clemens assassinated those four cops at a Tully's coffee shop. Another cop got ambushed about a year ago too.


For no reason?

This was shortly after leaderless resistor Robert Monfort assassinated that cop. Others were inspired to do the same.



Point is, not a good time to be a cop in the Seattle area. Also, just read the comments in the article. People are pissed and you reap what you sow SPD.


You're not defending this murder, are you?

Wow, don't even know how to respond. How could you interpret what I said as defending this murder? Ares said "land of the free, home of the brave :sarc:" I grew up in Tacoma and I just wanted to point out that when the thugs in uniform get out of line, people in this region don't take things laying down. Perhaps my comments were too veiled in saying that I'm cautiously optimistic that Seattle PD have reason to fear for their lives as a result of this MURDER.



Hope that clears things up.

[Awoke]

I misunderstood you.

When jackboots beat up little girls (http://iusbvision.wordpress.com/2009/02/28/video-police-beat-15-year-old-girl/), taser the elderly (http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/crime/Elderly_woman_shocked_with_taser), kill disabled people (http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/655091) and generally just terrorize the public, they should be scared to go to work, and shouldn't be surprised when regular Joes decide they have had enough.

[tekrunner]

I misunderstood you.

When jackboots beat up little girls (http://iusbvision.wordpress.com/2009/02/28/video-police-beat-15-year-old-girl/), taser the elderly (http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/crime/Elderly_woman_shocked_with_taser), kill disabled people (http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/655091) and generally just terrorize the public, they should be scared to go to work, and shouldn't be surprised when regular Joes decide they have had enough.




Totally agree.

[Spectrism]

I would have to say that I would really not cry a tear over such a cop meeting with justice. And the same applies to the DA, the dumbass jurors (may they find themselves on the wrong side of a tazer) and the legislators.

[freespirit]

new SPD pursuit vehicles...note the new improved slogan on the rear quarter panel

[uncletonoose]

Seattle Police officer in fatal shooting resigns

SEATTLE – Seattle Police Officer Ian Birk resigned Wednesday, hours after King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced that Birk would not face criminal charges for the fatal shooting of a woodcarver who was armed with a knife.

Chief John Diaz issued a statment saying:

Officer Ian Birk has communicated to me his intent to resign his commission with the Seattle Police Department. His resignation will take place effectively at 4 p.m. today.

At my direction, the Office of Professional Accountability investigation will continue forward. The completion of this investigation is not contingent on Ian Birk remaining on the force. Reaching our own administrative conclusion is a necessary step to providing a small degree of closure to the many people affected by this tragedy over the past several months.

If the Office of Professional Accountability presents me with a recommendation for discipline, it will be kept on file per department protocol and presented to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.

Birk's attorney, Ted Buck, said that the officer been through emotional turmoil and heartache over taking a man's life but still believes he had no choice.

"No one's every going to know what Mr. Williams' intent was that day, whether he was planning on sticking that knife in Ian Birk," said Buck. "What we do know is that Officer Birk, through his training and experience, saw in Mr. Williams' eyes and behavior, a man who appeared to be an imminent threat. And if we ask police officers to wait until the knife is in them to make a decision to defend themselves we are going to have tragedies of a different kind."

Buck says Birk realizes in hindsight he should have called for back-up, and that he got too close to Williams.

In a phone conversation Wednesday afternoon, Birk told his attorney that he did not believe he could continue in his role as a Seattle Oolice officer given all of the enmity that's built up so he called the chief and resigned.

Mayor Mike McGinn issued a statement saying, in part, that "it appears clear that Officer Birk saw the writing on the wall. He could read the same Firearms Review Board report that the rest of us did."

He said the final OPA review will continue, so that the Department can properly close the case and recommend to the state whether Birk should be allowed to work elsewhere as an officer of the law.

Satterberg said Wednesday that Washington law protects police officers from a homicide charge unless there's evidence of malice or bad faith.

McGinn said he's "deeply sorry" for the tragedy and would work to restore the community's faith in the police force.

The decision not to charge Birk prompted an outcry from Williams' family and supporters, who planned demonstrations downtown.

Birk had been on paid leave since the shooting. His badge and gun were taken from him after a hearing in October.

http://www.king5.com/news/Seattle-Police-officer-who-shot-and-killed-woodcarver--116360914.html#

[AOW]

Getting interesting....




http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2014280387_danny20.html




Wary Seattle police officers talk of laying low on borderline crime



"Are you going to murder me, too?"

A Seattle patrol officer, who works downtown, says he hears comments like this on an almost daily basis when he's out working the streets.

"People we stop at some point say, 'Don't shoot me, man!' " the officer told me. "I try to have thick skin and not let it get to me."

But it is getting to them. As it clearly has gotten to us.

A steady drip-drip of videos highlighting strong-arm police tactics, coupled with that pointless killing of an Indian woodcarver, have left cop and citizen alike angry or, at the least, eyeing one another suspiciously.

Where do we go from here?

That's what I wondered when I read yet another defensive account of all this in the latest issue of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild newspaper, The Guardian. The union president, Sgt. Rich O'Neill, writes that the problem is an "anti-police feeding frenzy." For which he blames the usual suspects: the media, liberal intolerance, the ACLU, etc.

But what raised my eyebrows — and others around town — was the advice he gave to officers:

"You are paid to use your discretion and there are many ways to do police work. Recent events should show us that many in the city really don't want aggressive officers who generate on-view incidents. They want officers who avoid controversy and simply respond when summoned by 911."

Uh-oh. He's saying, in other words: "Lay low."

An "on-view" is police jargon for officers taking action on their own initiative. Say you're a cop on patrol and you see a guy with bolt cutters next to a bike rack. Getting out and questioning him is an on-view.

In fact Officer Ian Birk was conducting a type of on-view — a stop of a person believed to be behaving suspiciously — when he shot and killed John T. Williams last August.



What the union head is suggesting here is that the scrutiny of police is so severe right now, and so lopsided, that cops should mostly just respond, not initiate.

"If there's borderline criminal or suspicious activity, I say let it go," O'Neill said when I asked him to elaborate. "Don't go out on a limb. It's not worth it, because if it goes sideways, you're going to be the latest poster child on the news."

O'Neill said he didn't use the term "de-policing" because that suggests cops "sitting under a tree reading a book." What he's counseling, until the heated climate cools, is that police take a passive approach to suspicious activity and minor crimes but continue to respond to serious crimes.

"If somebody's getting beaten up in an alley, obviously you're going to go after that," he said.

A Seattle police spokesman, Sean Whitcomb, says the chief and other top brass are aware this sentiment is in the ranks.

"When you feel some of the public animosity and distrust that's out there, there's a temptation to say, 'Let's just show up and do the bare minimum,' " Whitcomb said.

But, he added: "Most officers are not interested in that. For one thing, they've taken an oath that says the opposite."

I spoke or e-mailed with three Seattle police officers, to see what they think of all this. All talked only if I didn't identify them, due to a policy that line officers can't speak to the media without getting approval. Plus the mood is intense these days, what with the feds investigating the department.

The officers said the idea of de-policing has come up.

Said one: "It's on your mind that you might end up the star of the next video. So now you think two or three times about stopping someone, when before you would have gone more with your instincts."

This has come up before in Seattle, mostly after the 2001 shooting of a black man, Aaron Roberts, by police in the Central Area. Then some cops openly said it wasn't worth fighting crime aggressively in minority neighborhoods because the cop might end up being labeled a racist or under some sort of civil-rights review.

Back then, one officer described how he'd let a black car thief get away because he was hesitant to arrest him, saying: "I don't want to see my name in the papers."

Today, a patrol officer said he wasn't planning to go along with anything like that.

"If something doesn't look right, I'm going to investigate it. That's what we're supposed to do."

Another cop cautioned that, "You in the media shouldn't take as gospel everything you read in The Guardian. We don't."

I asked O'Neill for examples of how police might look the other way. He said maybe they wouldn't do drug buy-bust operations anymore. Or no more "shakes" — the police term for contacting people who are behaving suspiciously.

"Don't turn over any rocks," he said. "We'll get them another day."

Won't crime go up?

"That might be a consequence," O'Neill said. "But the leaders of this city need to decide how they want it around here."

Like I said: Uh-oh.

All of this seems like a very human reaction to criticism. The cops feel under siege. Obviously some citizens do, too.

But somehow I doubt the people want this tumult to result in the Seattle police adopting "We'll Get Them Another Day" as its new crime-fighting motto.

[Awoke]

"No one's every going to know what Mr. Williams' intent was that day, whether he was planning on sticking that knife in Ian Birk," said Buck. "What we do know is that Officer Birk, through his training and experience, saw in Mr. Williams' eyes and behavior, a man who appeared to be an imminent threat. And if we ask police officers to wait until the knife is in them to make a decision to defend themselves we are going to have tragedies of a different kind."



Ahem

*cough cough *

Bullshit.



"Are you going to murder me, too?"

A Seattle patrol officer, who works downtown, says he hears comments like this on an almost daily basis when he's out working the streets.

"People we stop at some point say, 'Don't shoot me, man!' " the officer told me. "I try to have thick skin and not let it get to me."

But it is getting to them. As it clearly has gotten to us.

A steady drip-drip of videos highlighting strong-arm police tactics, coupled with that pointless killing of an Indian woodcarver, have left cop and citizen alike angry or, at the least, eyeing one another suspiciously.



Exactly. That's why they are trying to make it illegal to videotape the NWO pigs in action. That is why everyone should have a small electronic video camera with them at all times.
Even LRP-believing sheep are starting to catch on to the new wave of police brutality.

[mick silver]

up up and away

[MNeagle]

City to pay $1.5 million to family of slain woodcarver

By Steve Miletich and Lynda V. Mapes

Seattle Times staff reporters


Raw Video excerpt | Dashboard video during John T. Williams shooting

Play video now


Officer Ian Birk describes Williams' posture

Play video now
Related

Settlement agreement (PDF)
Archive | A tribute in totem: Carvings rich with symbolism
Archive | Feds investigating officer's shooting of woodcarver
Archive | Officer Birk quits after SPD rebuke
Archive | Seattle police have questions about fatal shooting by officer
Top comments Hide / Show comments
I'd personally like to see a certain police officer behind bars. (April 29, 2011, by david884) Read more Hire, train, supervise and tolerate psychologically unqualified dumbells in the... (April 29, 2011, by Liberty Bayer) Read more Taxpayers of Seattle would like the thank ex-officer Birk.. (April 29, 2011, by One shoe missing) Read more Read all 121 comments > Post a comment >
The City of Seattle has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the family of John T. Williams, who was fatally shot by a police officer.

The Aug. 30 shooting of the 50-year-old First Nations woodcarver and chronic street inebriate was found to be unjustified by the Seattle Police Department's Firearms Review Board and led to the resignation of the officer, Ian Birk, earlier this year.

The agreement, announced Friday by the City Attorney's Office, was reached through mediation between the city, Williams' mother and representatives of his estate. No claim or lawsuit has been filed by the family, although the city was facing the likelihood of a federal civil-rights suit.

"This is one step toward justice, but it is only a step," Rick Williams, a brother of Williams and administrator of his estate, said in a prepared statement. "Nothing can make up for the loss of my brother."

Birk, 28, resigned Feb. 16, hours after the Police Department released the scathing findings of the firearms board, which concluded he acted outside the department's "policy, tactics and training" when he shot Williams four times at the intersection Boren Avenue and Howell Street.

At the time Birk resigned, the department was moving toward firing him.

On the same day, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced he would not bring criminal charges against Birk, who joined the department in 2008.

Satterberg said state law prohibited him from filing charges because Birk believed Williams, who was carrying a knife, posed a threat. Satterberg said there was no evidence Birk acted with malice, noting that police officers are given more protection against criminal prosecution for homicide than ordinary citizens.

Williams' family has asked the King County Superior Court judges to convene a citizen grand jury to consider whether Birk should be criminally charged. The court is reviewing the request, which was filed March 16.

Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal review of the shooting to determine whether Birk should be charged with violating Williams' civil rights. The shooting also was one of several high-profile incidents in the past year that prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to open a civil-rights investigation into the Police Department's use of force and treatment of minorities.

The city's payment will go to Williams' estate and his mother, Ida Edward, of Vancouver, B.C. She and her family are members of the Ditidaht Tribe, part of Canada's Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations. Under the agreement, the city will pay part of the money in a trust for Edward and part into a court registry, which will hold the money in escrow while issues involving the distribution of funds are resolved, according to a statement from the City Attorney's Office. A special representative will be appointed to represent any other potential heirs, although none has been found or come forward, the statement said.

According to the statement, the mediation followed "positive meetings" aimed at building trust between Seattle police and the Native-American community.

"The parties are pleased to be able to resolve the case without protracted litigation that could have incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees," the statement said.

The shooting occurred after Birk, while driving his patrol car, saw Williams cross the street holding a piece of wood and the knife, which had a 3-inch blade. Williams used the knife for carving, his family said.

Birk got out of his car and followed Williams onto the sidewalk. He shouted at Williams to get his attention and ordered him three times to put down the knife. About four seconds after the first command, Birk fired when Williams didn't respond.

At a court inquest into the shooting in January, Birk testified he was initially concerned because Williams showed signs of impairment while carrying a knife. When he sought to question Williams, he said, Williams turned toward him with a "very stern, very serious, very confrontational look."

Birk told jurors he fired because Williams "still had the knife out" and was in "a very confrontational posture."

Two witnesses contradicted Birk, saying they didn't see Williams do anything threatening.

The eight-member jury reached mixed findings on the shooting. Four of eight jurors found that Birk wasn't facing an imminent threat when he fatally shot Williams, and that he didn't give Williams sufficient time to put down the knife.

One juror found that Birk faced a threat and gave Williams sufficient time; three others answered "unknown."

Four jurors determined Birk believed he was in danger when he encountered Williams, while four others answered "unknown."

Williams' knife was found in the closed position after the shooting.

Jurors unanimously found that Williams was carrying an open knife when first seen by Birk. But four said "no" and four said "unknown" when asked if the blade was extended when Birk fired.

The firearms board concluded Birk didn't properly identify himself as a police officer and acted too quickly. The board also determined that Birk didn't appropriately assess the situation, including options such as taking cover.

When the shooting findings were released, Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer, who authored the report, said Birk's actions were "among the most egregious failings that I have seen."

Weeks after the shooting, the department took steps to bolster its training and community relations.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014913811_settlement30m.html

(2 videos at link too)

[Cebu_4_2]

Excellent news!

[Awoke]

Resignation? He should ahve been fired and charged with murder.

[Bullion_Bob]

Birk told jurors he fired because Williams "still had the knife out" and was in "a very confrontational posture."

Two witnesses contradicted Birk, saying they didn't see Williams do anything threatening.

The eight-member jury reached mixed findings on the shooting. Four of eight jurors found that Birk wasn't facing an imminent threat when he fatally shot Williams, and that he didn't give Williams sufficient time to put down the knife.

One juror found that Birk faced a threat and gave Williams sufficient time; three others answered "unknown."

Four jurors determined Birk believed he was in danger when he encountered Williams, while four others answered "unknown."


The whole problem with the "jury of peers" is that the jury can be comprised of more than a few totally incompetent brain dead idiots.

Lemme see...gets out of car with menacing voice, and runs after some guy walking along obviously does not hear him, then blazes him with gunfire just a few seconds later. Right. I wonder what happened there.

Small little carving knife, and a guy holding a block of wood who got shot in the back a bunch of times.

Juror: I can't figure out what happened, he might have morphed into a vampire, and was about to kill everyone, and suck their blood. Ima saw it on da TeeVee once ::)

[nunaem]

The whole problem with the "jury of peers" is that the jury can be comprised of more than a few totally incompetent brain dead idiots.




I always thought 'a jury of your peers' was retarded. It should be a jury of your superiors.

[Bullion_Bob]

The whole problem with the "jury of peers" is that the jury can be comprised of more than a few totally incompetent brain dead idiots.




I always thought 'a jury of your peers' was retarded. It should be a jury of your superiors.


I think every juror should be put though real world IQ tests before forced to make decisions that determine other people's lives. Some unbelievable shit no doubt.

[Cebu_4_2]

The whole problem with the "jury of peers" is that the jury can be comprised of more than a few totally incompetent brain dead idiots.




I always thought 'a jury of your peers' was retarded. It should be a jury of your superiors.


I think every juror should be put though real world IQ tests before forced to make decisions that determine other people's lives. Some unbelievable shit no doubt.


Now that I had opportunity to watch the testimony I am dumbfounded that after all that was in the initial video, terrorist's sound shut off and no corroborating video from probably a dozen cams in the area that ANY jurors could think little carver man turned and got into a lunging attack position to take an armed terrorist down would even do that... while carver man still hasn't turned because he was deaf and was "shot" in the back 6 times. Even witnesses said this, I do believe that the NWO terrorists have infiltrated the jurors of your peers.

[silver solution]

The whole problem with the "jury of peers" is that the jury can be comprised of more than a few totally incompetent brain dead idiots.




I always thought 'a jury of your peers' was retarded. It should be a jury of your superiors.


I think every juror should be put though real world IQ tests before forced to make decisions that determine other people's lives. Some unbelievable shit no doubt.


Now that I had opportunity to watch the testimony I am dumbfounded that after all that was in the initial video, terrorist's sound shut off and no corroborating video from probably a dozen cams in the area that ANY jurors could think little carver man turned and got into a lunging attack position to take an armed terrorist down would even do that... while carver man still hasn't turned because he was deaf and was "shot" in the back 6 times. Even witnesses said this, I do believe that the NWO terrorists have infiltrated the jurors of your peers.


There are a lots and lots of brain-dead, brainwashed retards out there as anyone that has ever stood up and told the truth will tell you.

They will put retarded people on juries. I have seen it.

[Cebu_4_2]

There are a lots and lots of brain-dead, brainwashed retards out there as anyone that has ever stood up and told the truth will tell you.

They will put retarded people on juries. I have seen it.

That is why the lawyers and prosecution can interrogate "peers" until they are satisfied.

[Veni, vidi...evigilavi!]

Exactly what Cebu stated. Just how the F*ck do you justify the "officer" did the right thing, especially since the guy was shot in the BACK multiple times!

Obviously the jury was either bought, or they probably are a bunch of tards that dropped out of school early. The only other explanation to justify these actions is if the woodcarver actually faced the officer for a split second(the triggerhappy cop panicked) then the wood carver thought "oh sh*t he has his weapon drawn, better run away..." then turned back away from cop and was shot, PERIOD"<<slim chance of the latter btw, more than likely woodcarver just failed to respond & ticked off mr.triggerhappy.

Because if the cop did actually feel said man was coming towards him, then this means cop would have killed said person by shooting him on the FRONT part of his body, remember all this took place within 5-7secs of the initial "hey..hey you..." warning. I'm not buying the defense's b.s. story, this just means another murderer is on the loose. >:(