Feds investigating officer's shooting of woodcarver

[uppityperson]

Source: Seattle Times

The U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing whether to file federal criminal charges in the August shooting death of First Nations woodcarver John T. Williams by a Seattle police officer.

The investigation will examine whether former Officer Ian Birk violated Williams' civil rights when he shot and killed him on a downtown city sidewalk. Williams failed to respond to repeated commands that he drop a pocket knife.

"The Department was previously monitoring the local investigation and now that their review is complete, we will conduct an independent review of the facts to determine if the evidence indicates a prosecutable violation of federal criminal civil-rights laws," said Xochitl Hinojosa, a spokeswoman for Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, in a prepared statement Thursday.

The investigation is separate from the civil investigation of the Seattle Police Department announced earlier Thursday. That federal investigation will look at the "patterns and practices" of the department with respect to use-of-force and discriminatory policing....(more

Read more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014653058_birkprobe01m.html

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This hard of hearing man failed to respond to an unidentified person yelling behind him while quietly walking down a busy street. Technically, he "failed to respond to repeated commands that he drop a pocket knife" but wtf?

I don't have much hope for this investigation but at least it is going forward.

"His attorney, Ted Buck, said the Justice Department is wasting its time and resources looking to prosecute an officer who followed his training and shot because he feared for his life." WTF? Running up behind someone while never identifying yourself as a cop, running up so close that you "fear for your life" and have to shoot someone who then turns to see wtf is going on behind him, shooting him for a "stern look" on his face is "followed his training"?

No rights violated? Training followed? What. The. Fuck?

[Mopar151]

1. WTF is right....

Would'nt be the first cop who shot someone for "contempt of cop".

[uppityperson]

2. I don't see it even as contempt but as the cop not iding himself or waiting for compliance.

He didn't say "police, drop the knife" he yelled "hey hey hey drop the knife" while running up behind someone on a street with a lot of traffic noise. If I'm in the city and hear someone yelling "hey hey hey" I don't assume it is yelled at me. I guess next time I'm in Seattle and cutting up an apple with my pocketknife and hear someone yell "hey hey" I should drop and spread. I hope the family goes ahead with their civil suit.

Am glad feds are looking at this, hope the Seattle PD brass take a hard look at wtf their "training" is if this guy followed it.

[Downwinder]

3. If there is much traffic noise, I wouldn't even hear them.

[uppityperson]

5. me either.

[Ikonoklast]

6. Nor I. A little deaf in my left ear.

Makes it hard to single out one source of sound in a noisy environment.

[Uncle Joe]

4. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, uppityperson.

[Mnemosyne]

7. About damn time. K&R n/t