Seattle, WA.- The Aug. 30th. fatal shooting of John T. Williams leaves many unanswered questions.
Telling his side of the Aug. 30 fatal shooting of John T. Williams for the first time publicly, Seattle police officer Ian Birk described the Native American woodcarver as an angry-looking man, with his jaw clenched, showing signs Birk thought might have indicated an oncoming attack based on his department training.
On the stand Tuesday morning, Det. Jeffrey Mudd acknowledged to Ford that that none of the witnesses to the Seattle shooting saw the man as a threat. Mudd said later in the inquest that none of the witnesses reported seeing Williams' knife.
Asked whether Birk was trained to shoot someone within four seconds of making contact, Mudd said officers are trained to address people who are a threat.
Last month, King County District Court Judge Arthur Chapman, who is leading the inquest, ordered that the video from Birk's patrol car be released. The footage showed it was roughly 16 seconds from the time Birk turned on his lights to the point when Williams was shot multiple times, after Birk yelled multiple times to get Williams' attention. Police initially said the confrontation lasted about a minute.
The city's firearms review board concluded its hearing Oct. 4 and presented preliminary findings to Police Chief John Diaz that week. The board found the shooting not justified.
Link: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/433244_inquest12.html