The murder of John T Williams by Seattle PD (dash cam vid)

[Perelandra]

Statements after Williams police shooting inquest


This picture of John T. Williams was taken at Steinbrueck Park about two hours before he was shot to death Aug. 30 near Boren Avenue and Howell Street. (Photo courtesy Eric Williams)

Seattle Police Department

The King County Inquest is a process that is independent of the police department and held to assist the prosecuting attorney. We respect and support that process and Chief Diaz would personally like to thank the jury for their participation. We are confident that the prosecuting attorney's office will make a full, fair and objective assessment based on the information that has been presented to them.


King County Prosecutor's Office

The inquest into the death of John T. Williams has been completed. The inquest jury has answered the interrogatories examining the facts surrounding the death of John T. Williams on August 30, 2010. With the inquest now completed, the King County Prosecutor's Office will conduct an independent review of the evidence brought forth during the inquest and will consider the findings of the jury to determine whether or not criminal charges are warranted against Seattle Police Officer Ian Birk. Prosecutors expect to finish this review in mid-February.


Seattle Human Rights Commission

The inquest exposed serious divides about issues ranging from how policing is viewed in Seattle, and what really constitutes danger, to how we should go about healing our community. The jury's response, the firearm review board's findings, and the imminent prosecutor's decision all indicate that we must take a hard look at how well the current policing system works and whether it is in need of reform.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/236475.asp

[Joe Hillshoist]

"What is it with Seattle cops and excessive, brutal responses to legal behaviour?"

More shameless self promotion.

[Perelandra]

Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work, Joe.

Citizen to Chief Diaz: "I Don't Know How to Not Get Shot by a Police Officer"
By Keegan Hamilton, Fri., Jan. 28 2011 @ 9:33AM

​Seattle Police Chief John Diaz engaged the public last night at the East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition's monthly meeting, answering questions about the shooting of John T. Williams by Ian Birk; the inflammatory editorial by officer Steve Pomper published in the police-guild newspaper; last year's Drug Market Initiative; and one tongue-in-cheek query from a police-accountability activist.

The discussion, held in a classroom at Seattle University, was incredibly civil in light of the recent high-profile incidents of excessive force by Seattle Police and the ensuing public outcry. But the community's indignation did show through at times, particularly toward the end of the meeting, when a 30-something woman sitting in the back row asked the chief a question about legal knife blades and how she should properly carry her wood chisels when she walks from her wood-carving class to her car.

"I don't know how to not get shot by a police officer," she remarked, eliciting a few chuckles from the audience.

By that point in the evening, Diaz had fielded a dozen or so questions about the Williams shooting, Pomper's editorial, and the department's relationship with minorities. He shrugged off the snark with a line about reconnecting with the community--one of his talking points of the night--and the meeting ended a few minutes later.

Early on, however, Diaz seemed frank when talking about the Birk-Williams incident. He twice refused to discuss details about any punishment Birk might face from the Department, but did say, "When we make a mistake--something that's clearly wrong--it erodes the community's faith in our organization so quickly . . . sometimes we make huge mistakes. Those are the ones you have to hold me accountable for, for how it's addressed."

​Diaz said of the Department of Justice's investigation of SPD, "I want to look at the entire organization, I welcome a review of our entire organization," adding that he wants the feds to speak to the local community groups that have been the Department's most outspoken critics.

Though he was evasive at times, Diaz, wearing a suit and tie instead of his police uniform, handled the tough questions smoothly, cracking a few well-timed jokes to diffuse the tension. When one man asked about the editorial in the police-guild newspaper and suggested that the comments constituted "insubordination," Diaz quipped, "I appreciate you getting my blood pressure spiked."

The chief then delivered his familiar "I'm not the thought police" line, adding "On the issue of social justice, we firmly and wholly support [those programs] . . . this is something that's critical to how we run our Department and this city."

Another woman, unsatisfied with the chief's response, asked again about the editorial. Diaz was more candid the second time around. "It's bad for this organization, it's bad for the entire community," he said. "It's a stupid thing to do . . . It doesn't do the union any good or the department any good. You can't hide and just say, 'Well, this is my union paper.' It's there for anyone to take a look at. It reflects badly . . . it's another way it degrades trust in our department."

Not all the talk focused on negatives. Bob Hood, formerly of the Seattle City Attorney's office, asked Diaz about the long-term effectiveness of the Drug Market Initiative program that Hood helped implement last year in East Precinct.

"That was a perfect example of fighting crime by reducing fear," Diaz said, noting that a similar operation is currently underway in Columbia City. "It also dealt with racial disparity of people of color involved in drug crime . . . we tried a different approach. I don't have the [crime] stats, but it was a great success in a lot of ways."

After the meeting, Joanna Cullen, a resident who lives in the heart of the DMI zone, near 21st Avenue and East Union, discussed the positive changes in her neighborhood.

"Before I was calling the police constantly to report drug deals and suspicious activity, four or five times a week," she said. "Since the DMI, I've called maybe once or twice. I look out my window and it's so peaceful."

Link

[Joe Hillshoist]

Part 2 of that is a little late but someone just dumped a load of cardboard boxes all over my life and I'm just picking them up. I'll have it done by the weekend.

[82_28]

Welp, that settles it. Cops can get away with murder. Just for compare/contrast purposes I will be facing a worse punishment for driving a little buzzed than a cop who in all obviousness murdered another human. Absolute travesty. Tomorrow is a protest downtown. Wish I could go, but I have to "work". . .

Report: No criminal charges in fatal shooting of woodcarver

SEATTLE -- King County prosecutors will not to file criminal charges against Officer Ian Birk in the fatal shooting of woodcarver John T. Williams, according to Seattle Times.

The newspaper cited "sources familiar with the decision" in its report.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn would not comment on the charges, but said the issue will be addressed at a news conference scheduled for Wednesday morning. He added Seattle Police Chief John Diaz will speak after the news conference.

KOMO News contacted the attorneys of both Birk and Williams on Tuesday evening, but both said they'd not been notified of the reported decision by prosecutors.

"I have heard only a rumor that there's not going to be any criminal charges brought against Ian, and that's not a great surprise to anybody who's been following this and knows the criteria that the prosecutor has to use to file criminal charges in a case like this," said Ted Buck, the attorney representing Birk. "I don't think there was ever serious risk of criminal charge being filed. You can take a number of things away from the unfortunate events of Aug. 30 of 2010, but criminal intent wasn't one of them."

Tim Ford, the attorney for the family of John T. Williams, told Seattlepi.com late Tuesday he had not been informed of a decision.

"(King County Prosecutor) Dan Satterberg told us he'd setup a meeting beforehand, and he hasn't done that yet," Ford said.

Williams' sister said she wasn't surprised to hear the rumors.

"It doesn't seem to bother that many people. That's the thing that I think hurts the most," said Susanna Chambers. "I don't think anybody deserves to die. (He was) shot in the back for doing nothing."

As a part of the decision-making process, the prosecutors reviewed the results of an inquest into Williams' death.

An inquest jury split its decision last month over the question about the true danger the 27-year-old police officer faced when Williams failed to drop a knife at a Seattle street corner.

Four jurors said there was no actual threat while three others said the answer is unknown.

Dash cam video from Birk's patrol car captured the sights and sounds of the incident, and the police department is still examining Birk's actions.

Birk has already been stripped of his gun and badge after a preliminary ruling by Seattle police found that the shooting was unjustified.

Adding fuel to the growing discontent with police are new videos showing more alleged abuses at the hands of Seattle Police Department officers.

The U.S. Justice Department has even begun a preliminary review of the department with a focus on the department's use of force.

For their part, Seattle police say they've been taking extra steps to improve training and improve relations in the community.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/116286914.html

If it is incontrovertible that this murderer was within the means of his duty to kill, does it not also follow that citizens are also within their duty to always "disobey" a cop from now on? OMFG. I just can't believe it went down this way.

Wait.

No, I believe it. Let's see what happens at the protests.

I can tell you this, there was a protest the other day and a cop car had it's windows broken out and the perps "disappeared into the crowd".

A demonstration protesting the shooting death of wood carver John T. Williams by a Seattle police officer turned into a march Saturday afternoon, then turned into sporadic destruction of property, Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson said.

The demonstration was held at Westlake Park by a group called the October 22 Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Jamieson said. Afterward, demonstrators marched through downtown and then east on Pike Street. Along the way, some protesters pulled sandwich boards and newspaper stands into the streets, Jamieson said.

The group worked its way up to the police department's East Precinct, at 12th Avenue and East Pine Street, where a protester used a hammer to smash the driver's-side window of an unoccupied police car, Jamieson said.

Officers tried to catch the demonstrator, but the suspect slipped into the crowd and disappeared. Police arrested two women, ages 26 and 20, on suspicion of obstructing police, a misdemeanor. Both were booked into the King County Jail.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... st13m.html

Hahahahahahaha! What the fuck ever.

Provocamuthafuckingteurs! So easy. So elementary. Tomorrow should be interesting.

[82_28]

Bumping. I wish I didn't have to work. I would be down there for the protest with my "discerning eye" and would have reported back. Personally, if anybody still cares, I would check this site throughout the day:

http://slog.thestranger.com/blogs/slog/

or the twitter feed

http://twitter.com/#!/search/seattle%20police

The Seattle PI

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/435580_shooting16.html

Perhaps I can persuade Pickle Pizza to roll down there when he gets off work and check out the scene and report back here.

[82_28]

Unbelievable, outrageous. The Seattle Firearms Review board, whoever the fuck that is, just announced that they do not agree with the decision. The chief of police "seems" to not agree with the King County prosecutor. The mayor will hold a press conference at 1PM PST, so about an hour from now.

I just watched that dash cam vid again. Birk's sidearm was drawn not in any way one would think would go with police policy. It was drawn like a douchebag would draw a gun, a man set to kill, not a cop trying to get a handle on the situation and avoid injury from an inebriated, deaf man. I think it's Murder One, myself.

[Perelandra]

County Prosecutor Telegraphs No Criminal Charges for Killing John T. Williams
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 8:27 AM

Many of you were hoping for criminal charges against Seattle Police Officer Ian Birk for killing John T. Williams last August. You know, the charges that seemed possible after release of a shocking video of the shooting, a lengthy public inquest that found many jurors doubting Birk's version of events, and protests held throughout the city? Charges that seemed possible after even the Seattle Police Department's Firearms Review Board found the shooting unjustified?

You're probably never going to see those charges announced. That's the between-the-lines upshot of a conversation yesterday with Ian Goodhew, King Count Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg's deputy chief of staff.

So why won't we see charges?

In order to press criminal charges against Birk, prosecutors would have to make a case that he acted out of malice—an incredible high bar set by Washington State law. "Malice is a very well defined, well used term in criminal law—it means evil intent," explains Goodhew, who wouldn't directly say that Birk won't be charged. But the writing's on the wall (or, rather, in the statute). "Unless we can show an evil intent, he’s not criminally liable."

Goodhew also seems to expect that the prosecutor's office will have to explain this—and that it might not jibe with popular opinion. "I guarantee we’ll be explaining to folks what the law is. But in the end, I hope people want us to be making our decision based on the law and not on how many people we hear from."

Whether or not the law makes sense—which may be a fight we'll hear more about—the issue comes up in statutes relating to self defense. The real wonky shit after the jump.

There are essentially two self-defense areas of law: one that applies to general citizens (and off-duty officers) and one that pertains to instances where officers are authorized to use deadly force. When deciding whether or not to press criminal charges against Birk—or any on-duty officer who kills someone—Satterberg uses this 20-year-old state statute, which outlines when use of force is justified by a police officer. Section three holds the money quote:

A public officer or peace officer shall not be held criminally liable for using deadly force without malice and with a good faith belief that such act is justifiable pursuant to this section.

This sentence alone contains two hurdles for prosecutors: proving Birk acted with malice when he shot Williams, and disproving Birk's "good faith belief" that he had a reason to use deadly force. While malice is well defined, Goodhew says that a "good faith belief" is nebulous and difficult to disprove (an officer can have a good faith belief that causes him to fire his weapon but still be wrong that the action was warranted).

For the prosecutor's office, it's not about proving whether or not deadly force is justified—any time an officer feels that their safety or public safety is threatened, force becomes justified. "Basically, as the law is written, if you’re an on-duty officer and the shooting's not intentional, and you’re not reckless, then you’re not guilty of either murder or manslaughter," Goodhew says. Furthermore, "in order to charge anyone, ever, we need to have proof beyond a reasonable doubt."

Put another way, the law is too broadly written to ever convict an on-duty officer of criminal charges unless he precedes his use of deadly force by declaring something like, "I'm going to kill you even though you're unarmed and no real threat to me because I am mad with power and surely I can spin this into a heroic act deserving of a medal." BANG! BANG! BANG!

In fact, if Satterberg were to miraculously press charges, it would be the first time in 30 years that criminal charges were brought against an on-duty police officer for firing his weapon. Interestingly enough, it seems that legislators didn't intend for the law to be interpreted so broadly. If you look at the note—the legislative recognition—at the bottom of the statute, it reads:

The legislature recognizes that RCW 9A.16.040 establishes a dual standard with respect to the use of deadly force by peace officers and private citizens, and further recognizes that private citizens' permissible use of deadly force under the authority of RCW 9.01.200, 9A.16.020, or 9A.16.050 is not restricted and remains broader than the limitations imposed on peace officers.
In other words, the legislature has a disclaimer saying that law enforcement should be held to higher standards than civilians with regards to using deadly force, and yet the law actually lowers that bar.

"As citizens, when facing criminal charges like this, we would have to show that we believed there was a threat and objectively, that there was a threat," says Goodhew. "You and I do not have, under general self-defense statutes, do not have [the officer-afforded] exceptions of malice and good faith."

Goodhew says Satterberg has met with several groups of people who want to see criminal charges filed against Birk. These people, many people, are going to be upset if (or rather when) Satterberg declines to press criminal charges. Again, Goodhew stresses that, "We’re looking at every piece of evidence in the case and applying the law to that evidence. We’ll make our decision based on this law."

Clearly, then, the law needs to be rewritten.

Link
From an article yesterday on the Stranger blog.

I've heard it's likely Birk will be made an example and fired.

[Pele'sDaughter]

I've heard it's likely Birk will be made an example and fired.

I'm not sure that would even keep him from getting another law enforcement job. If not prosecuted, he should be fired and forbidden from working in the field again. These bad cops are like pedo priests who move from parish to parish.

[82_28]

Birk has resigned. Effective as of 10 minutes ago.

[Joe Hillshoist]

He better not come to Australia.

[Nordic]

This is absolutely outrageous.

[Perelandra]

Nick Licata Will Draft Legislation to Make it Easier for Cities to Prosecute Cops

Posted by Cienna Madrid on Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 4:25 PM

Seattle City Council member Nick Licata has committed to drafting legislation that would make it easier to prosecute cops for killing civilians. Licata says that he wants to remove the stipulation that "malice"—otherwise known as "evil intent"—from the state's current deadly use-of-force laws because, as some people have noted, it's a nearly impossible bar to prove.

"You basically have to prove that a police officer was intentionally out to kill someone," says Licata. "I think the general public recognizes that this poor wording needs to change—there should be a more active description."

But passing the legislation won't be a cakewalk. Licata knows that he needs King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg on board—or at least neutral towards the measure to get it passed in Olympia. Then there's the issue of pacifying local police unions, which that aren't traditionally friendly towards measures that cause them greater on-the-job liability (and represent a large, well-organized voting constituency throughout the state). And while many Seattle residents have clamored for the law to be changed after Satterberg declined to press murder or manslaughter charges against disgraced former cop Ian Birk for killing John T. Williams last summer, Licata acknowledges that cities themselves might balk at a more liberal law.

"Washington cities don’t want something that exposes them to greater liability," Licata explains. "If we broaden the law or to include negligence, does that mean they’ll have more lawsuits against the city? That's a hurdle that could kill potential legislation."

Nevertheless, it's encouraging news that at least one city official is actively stepping forward to tackle the law. And Licata has the better part of a year to figure it out.

Link

US Dept. of Justice Officially Launches Investigation of SPD

Posted by Cienna Madrid on Thu, Mar 31, 2011 at 11:07 AM
Updated with comments from Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, of the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.

After conducting a months-long preliminary review of the Seattle Police Department, the US Department of Justice is launching a full investigation into SPD practices and alleged patterns of excessive use of force and discriminatory policing exhibited by officers, according to a letter sent to Mayor Mike McGinn yesterday (.pdf).

If the DOJ finds that there aren't "systematic violations of constitutional or other federal rights," case closed.

We will examine department policies and practices, review records and observe police officers in the field," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez in a statement released today. "We will talk to department leadership and rank and file officers. We will also engage with the community — a critical part of the process of determining whether violations have occurred and how a police department can be improved."

If the DOJ confirms that SPD is violating the constitutional or federal rights of Seattle citizens, the department will work with the city and SPD to resolve the issues.

Perez states, "Our goal with this investigation... is simple: to ensure that the community has an effective, accountable police department that controls crime, ensures respect for the Constitution, and earns the trust of the public it is charged with protecting."

In this vein, the DOJ has offered to "provide recommendations on ways to improve police policies," something Chief Diaz has said SPD welcomes.

The letter notes that the department "has taken similar steps in a variety of state and local law enforcement agencies, both large and small, in jurisdictions such as New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia and California," on the whole without resorting to litigation.

The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington are also participating in the investigation and they want to hear from you. Email or call: 855-203-4479.

Link

[82_28]

This shit has been going on a long time, I fear.

[Joe Hillshoist]

John T Williams was shot a year ago. (Its the 31 st here, but we are on the other side of the dateline.)