Seattle Police Officer Gets Away with Murder

John T. Williams was given just four seconds to comply with an order to drop the legal knife he was carrying for his trade before he was shot and killed by Officer Ian Birk last August -- one, two, three, dead. But even though the Seattle Police Department is expected to rule that the officer's decision to pull the trigger was unjustified, King County prosecutors are announcing they will not be pursuing criminal charges over the fatal shooting.

Such is one of the perks of wearing a uniform, it seems: you can kill a man in a shooting that even your own employers won't stand behind, and the worst that can happen is you'll lose your job – though even that hasn't happened yet.

A 50-year-old Native American, Williams was well known in Seattle for his skill as a woodcarver. When Officer Birk shot him dead on August 30 of last year, he was merely crossing the street with a wooden board and the 3” knife he used to carve – not only did he not commit an offense deserving of death, he didn't break any law. And according to eyewitnesses, he never rushed Officer Birk or so much as adopted an aggressive posture, contrary to the police department's initial claims.

“He didn't even look up at the officer,” said one witness. A video of the incident recorded by a dashboard camera in Officer Birk's police cruiser shows how little time Williams was given to follow the order to drop his knife; indeed, half the jurors who were part of an inquest into the shooting said there was absolutely no way Williams had enough time to comply.

Though the shooting occurs off-camera, an eyewitness can be heard pleading with the officer, demanding to know why he killed a man who posed a threat to no one.

The shooting – one of several incidents of Seattle police deploying excessive force over the past few years, a fact that's spurred a Justice Department investigation – set off a firestorm of protest in the city. One activist, Sheri Day, a member of Change.org and the Seattle-based John T. Williams Organizing Committee, gathered thousands of signatures, both online and off, demanding Officer Birk be prosecuted for killing a harmless man – signatures she and other activists then delivered to King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg

But according to Satterberg, no prosecutable crime was apparently committed. His office is expected to announce the decision not to press charges at a news conference this afternoon.

Beyond just the dubious logic behind the decision, Satterberg's announcement is rather peculiarly timed, as it comes when the Seattle Police Department's own Firearms Review Board is expected to soon announce it believes the shooting was unjustified, the Seattle Times reports, a finding that could lead to Officer Birk's firing.

Activists, meanwhile, are still hoping Officer Birk will have to face justice, not just the unemployment office.

“We believe that the death of the late John T. Williams was a tragedy that could have and should have been avoided,” the organizing committee says in a January 16 statement. “[W]e believe that bringing charges and allowing the justice system to operate as it does for other citizens would start the necessary process of accountability and healing to move the family of the late John T. Williams, Officer Birk and the citizens of Seattle constructively forward.”

Photo Credit: John T. Williams Organizing Committee