Remembering John T. Williams
Though this is one of the many articles we find ourselves having to try and replace, which is very frustrating to say the least, it is one we know is extremely important to remain connected o spiritually as the whole tragic incident should NOT have happened to begin with... and yet 8 years ago this day, it did and the culprit remains held completely legally unaccountable for his wrongful action that left a 50 year old tribal elder dead in the streets of downtown Seattle, Washington.
On August 30, 2010, John T. Williams, a Native American woodcarver, wasn't doing anything other than walking legally across a Seattle city street when on-duty pfficer Birk was driving his patrol car and saw Williams near Boren Avenue and Howell Street. The dashboard camera of Birk's patrol car as you will see in the video provided below, shows Williams walk "through the crosswalk, hunched over (with) something in his hands, then disappear(ing) offscreen". Officer Birk emerged from his patrol car with his pistol drawn and bagan pursuing John T. Williams. Birk yelled, "Hey", "Hey… Hey!", "Put the knife down", "Put the knife down. Put the knife down!"
Less than 5 seconds after the first "Hey", the sound of gunshots was recorded on the camera. As the investigation would later reveal, John T. Williams had been holding a "scrap of wood" and "a single-blade pocketknife". Officers who arrived on the scene after the shooting and nearby witnesses later observed that the knife Williams was carrying was closed. Reports would later reveal that Williams was shot four times by Officer Ian Birk of the Seattle Police Department, mainly while his back was to the officer. Sadly, John T. Williams died at the scene without any family or loved ones around to comfort him. Here is the last photograph taken of John Williams just a few short hours before he was fatally unjustifiably shot to death by Seattle Police, with the piece of wood he was carving: "He was carving an eagle at the moment," his brother Rick told media and close family friends.
John Williams was a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribe, and during his childhood, which was in the 1960's & 1970's lived in Seattle, as well as in Victoria and Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. According to his family, John Williams' was a seventh-generation woodcarver. had been carving even at age 4, when he completed his first totem pole. His brother says John could walk and carve at the same time, but again we cannot emphasize enough, his blade was CLOSED when he was shot, not open. Please take a few moments and watch as well as listen o the tribute made musically regarding this tragic day:
Williams had hearing difficulties and had problems with alcohol, but even still, officer Birk failed to adequately identify himself as a police officer according to the video we've thus far seen. We also tend to agree with the Firearms Board who reviewed the case when they concluded "Officer Birk's decision to use deadly force was premature" and ultimately that the "discharge of his firearm was "unjustified and outside of policy, tactics and training" which was unanimous by the way for those of you wondering. Officer Birk said to the review board that 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. If this were true then Williams would Not have been shot predominantly in his back, nor would his knife been recovered with the blade Closed. This is our problem, 1+1 should Always =2 not 8 or anything else and if iti doesn't then something clearly isn't right.
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 which Obviously based on the evidence and the eyewitnesses accounts is true and therefore applicable. Manslaughter requires less proof. Prosecutors must show only that reckless or negligent conduct caused a death, though they still must do so beyond a reasonable doubt. Federal prosecutors claimed to have been monitoring the case and considering bringing a criminal civil-rights case against Birk, but apparently decided against it as they must show willful criminal conduct to obtain a conviction. And so, he was allowed to resign, which he did in 2011 and accountability-wise that's been the end of it.
Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn declared February 27, 2011 to be "John T. Williams Day" in the city. In August 2011, the City of Seattle paid Williams' family a settlement of $1.5 million dollars for their loss. Also too, a 34 feet tall totem pole honoring Williams was erected at the Seattle Center on February 26, 2012. And most recent remembrance tribute to Williams was In 2016, when a crosswalk was painted in the style of a white deer and was unveiled at Boren Avenue and Howell Street, where Williams was shot, as a dedication to his memory.
The fact that King County prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against Seattle police Officer Ian Birk in the fatal shooting of woodcarver John T. Williams remains disturbing as more often than not we see lack of accountability when deserving to those in uniforms you and we were taught to respect, such as here in this case. why too he was allowed to Resign when by all rights his record should show a formal Termination bugs many of us too, Ian Burk is a cold-blooded murderer afterall, and from what we saw in the video immediately above, he's cocky which police officers should Not appear to be while in uniform and on duy in our opinion! The fact that he shot this elderly tribal man in the Back shows him a Coward and John Williams being DISABLED just ices the cake, doesn't it - it Really paints the picture!
For those of you who would like to see the formal ceremony of the raising of John Williams tributed totem, please take a few moments and watch the video immediately below.
As always, we thank each and every one of you for your devotion o our newsroom and especially to those of you who contribute to it's flourishment. Keep it up and we hope all of you will say tuned for upcoming news we believe you may well be interested in knowing.
