Responses to shooting of street-carver John T. Williams

[Hannah Bell]

(edited for copyright purposes-proud patriot Moderator Democratic Underground)

“Special to The Times: Street whittling declared illegal” (>sarcasm< in case someone misunderstands)

Seattle — Street whittling was declared illegal today by Mayor Mike McGinn after a consultation with Seattle Police Chief John Diaz. “When you see a guy with a knife carving a piece of wood on the street, he might decide to carve you up, too,” Diaz said. “We can’t take that chance.”

The decision was made retroactive, Mayor McGinn said, so it would cover the police killing of homeless whittler and totem-pole carver John T. Williams by officer Ian Birk on Monday afternoon.
Williams was shot four times by Birk after he ignored commands to drop the knife, according to a police report.

A Taser was not used against Williams because of the danger that an electric spark conducted from the blade of Williams’ knife might have injured the officer, Diaz said. “The suspect was probably drunk, too, so a Taser might have ignited the alcohol fumes around him and caused him to explode,” Diaz added. “All things considered, the safest thing in circumstances like this is just to shoot him.”

McGinn said that while street whittling would not be allowed in the future in the city, an exception would be made for those who whittle while riding bicycles.


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/northwestvoices/2012790412_responsestoshootingofstreetcarverjohntwilliams.html

[Matariki]

1. Wow. I seriously expected better of McGinn

Creating a retroactive law to cover murder!?! That's disgusting.

[Hannah Bell]

2. it's sarcasm...

[Matariki]

4. I'm slow today.

[Hannah Bell]

6. it's ok. :>)

[Wickerman]

3. What?

The suspect was probably drunk, too, so a Taser might have ignited the alcohol fumes around him and caused him to explode.

Either he was or he wasn't.

edit - ok, so the whole thing was sarcasm. I get it - I think.

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. Satire. n/t

[nolabear]

7. This is a shocking, tragic story. This is what happened, more or less.

John T. Williams was a Native American man who has long hung out on Capitol Hill here in Seattle, mostly in front of a nice little restaurant and coffee shop. He was a carver--you might say he "whittled" but the photos I saw of his work were impressive. He did it all the time. He was also known to drink and to be partially deaf, as well as having some mental health issues. He's carried that knife and carved with it the way someone else would carry a book and read it. It wasn't a weapon, it was a tool for making art and he was an artist.

No one knows what happened the day he was killed. The police saw a man with a knife and told him to drop it and he didn't but kept coming toward them--not brandishing, holding. He may not have heard. He may not have comprehended. But he was not a violent man and there was absolutely no reason to shoot him.

There have been a lot of police killings here recently--not by police, but of police. There have also been an astonishing number of killings by police. It's terrible, and John T. Williams was a victim of that awful, awful cycle.

May his spirit rest and may his story be told.