Posted on 05/31/2011 8:27:58 PM PDT by Rabin
Officer Ian Birk shot John T. Williams last August after the Native American woodcarver crossed the street in front of Birk's patrol car while holding a piece of wood and a small knife. Birk later maintained Williams had threatened him… (MadHatters described the event: Williams, crossed an intersection where Officer Birk sat in his car. Birk saw Williams was carrying a lump of wood and a knife, got out of his car and called on Williams to drop the knife. When Williams didn’t comply Birk fired 5 rapid shots striking Williams in the side and back, killing him. http://madhatters.me.uk/2011/05/30/john-t-williams-family-offered-1-5-million/) The settlement was reached through mediation between the city and Williams' family. The city attorney's office said that saved both sides from protracted litigation and expensive legal fees.
(Excerpt) Read more at nativetimes.com ...
To be fair, most of Washington state is pretty sane - especially east of the mountains. But the Seattlunatics more than make up for the rest of us.
This was an execution, plain & simple. Williams was harmless and Birk is a loose cannon - with a license to kill apparently.
You people really need to clean up this sort of thing ~ put these maniacs in prison.
The video shows nothing.
The audio indicates that the cop blew him away just because he did not obey the master.
Did the near deaf man turn and attack the cop?
Took five shots to stop the mad maniac?
Inquiring minds want to know.
What’s one more dead civilian? The badge has to get back to his family at the end of the shift at all costs. Screw the civie, his family doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
This very thing is why I worry about my deaf friend any time she goes out to the store or to pick up the kids.
All it’ll take is one trigger happy badge who’s having a bad day to deciding she isn’t complying with his barked demands and she’s a dead woman.
andyk,
Thanks, Thanks a lot. dashcam footage
Your pix is worth a thousand words.
Rab
I watched the dashcam on youtube. From the time the cop *started* yelling (”Hey! Hey! Hey! Drop the knife!”) until the first shot was heard (off camera), I counted seven seconds.
Seven. Seconds.
I don’t think *I* would react to someone yelling *behind* me within seven seconds, and I’m not deaf. Birk should be hung by the neck until he’s as dead as his victim.
HA! / sarc
The “conservative” adjustable bed salesmen will never, ever say anything bad about anyone in a uniform.
“I watched the dashcam on youtube. From the time the cop *started* yelling (”Hey! Hey! Hey! Drop the knife!”) until the first shot was heard (off camera), I counted seven seconds.”
Aw - he could have shot your pet 16 year old blind, deaf, dachshund attack dog faster than 7 seconds but would have used the whole mag.
the cracks go far beyond the “police state” The man,s tribe, family and brother, >sold for 1.5 Blood money. Just move along.
R
testimony from witnesses all state that at no time did Williams turn and face the officer.
Also, at no time did Williams brandish a knife towards the police officer.
The police departments investigation found that Williams was shot while not facing the officer.
Officer Burk is a murderer.
It was brutal...
Cop was stopped at a red light, wood carver walks in front of the cop in the crosswalk, carving a piece of wood with a small knife, not even acknowledging the cop....The cop hops out of his car, and runs after the carver, within seconds out of view, he shoots the wood carver to death...
LOL, you are quite the utopian! Society today is little more than barely-controlled chaos.
In my society, a brother, father, or son would have already exacted "justice". (shrug) That's the real world I live in.
It doesn’t show much - the guy walks past whittling, heading away from the cop. The cop gets out, and follows him out of view. Next thing\, you see a woman walk past, who winces - obviously at the shots.
This cop has played too much Call of Duty.
The victum didn’t look like he was much the athelete, cop probably could have used his nightstick but it looks like he was ready to shoot somebody.
This happens all the time when SWAT teams storm a suspect’s house at night. They wake up sleeping people, in neighborhoods that are usually pretty bad. When the residents come out with a bat or a knife or a gun for self-protection, they are shot and killed. Even when the warrant is for a bad address and the people in the house have nothing to do with it, the cops are cleared.
If this had happened in a poor or lower working class neighborhood - one with a high crime rate or drug dealing - this guy would never have even been tried. You don’t even have to be armed.
Cops are no longer there to “serve and protect”.
Cops are there to “enforce”.
Entirely different mindset.
I hadn't known that the victim was deaf (I'm more than slightly "hard of hearing" myself). THAT little detail wasn't in any of the news reports "I" ever saw. If the cop hasn't been fired, he certainly needs to be, as he is MUCH too "hair-trigger" to be on the street.
I also note the arrogant swagger in the JBT's ("jack-booted thug" for the un-initiated) walk as he heads off to kill the innocent deaf guy.
"To: marktwain
I wish they’d get the facts straight. He was not a “whittler”, he was a
very talented American Indian Totem pole carver. He carved small
totem poles and sold them at Pike Place Market. His little totem
poles were beautiful little works of art, and much coveted by
those lucky enough to own one. (Did I mention he was a Native
American who came from a family of famous Totem Pole carvers?)
He was also deaf in one ear, which is why he may not have
responded to the police officer. This poor guy lost his life over a
{?3-1/2 pocket knife, which is the tool of his trade. As much as I
support our law-enforcement community, I think in this case, the
cop was trigger happy. They’re saying the victim was a drunk.
Well for a drunk, he did pretty nice work. This was a needless
death and a real pity. Witnesses say he was minding his business
and working on a little totem pole.
5 posted on September 1, 2010 11:21:12 PM EDT by holyscroller
( Without God, America is one nation under)
"
This is not a racist phenomenon. Police of all types have an ever expanding license to kill people or their dogs. So far it is still limited to the non politically connected but do we have a mayor in New Jersey that got SWATted and his dog killed with no resulting case against him or against the police who pulled the stunt so the pols do use it against each other some.
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