On August 30, 2010 at approximately 4:12 PM, Seattle PD officer Ian Burk fatally shot and killed Native American woodcarver, John T. Williams. Officer Burk claimed that he was justified in the killing since he demanded that Williams drop his knife, and Williams did not. The main controversy here is that upon viewing the video below, which was recorded by Burk's dashboard camera in his cruiser, one can plainly see that the victim was not given enough time to respond or react to the officer's request. Family members and associates of Williams even state that he was deaf in one ear, thus being why he did not acknowledged officer Burk's request. Also, not only did the officer wait less than 10 seconds after initially confronting Williams before opening fire, the autopsy results show that the victim was shot in the back. AUTOPSY LINK
Why, you ask? What was this man doing that was so wrong that he deserved to die? The answer to this, whittling a piece of wood. As the video below shows, the officer sees the man walking across a crosswalk with a knife and piece of wood and within the small span of 10 seconds he is gunned down by said officer. I was so stunned the first time I viewed it that I had to check other sources to see if it was even real. I simply could not believe what I was seeing.
Two minutes into the video, you can hear a woman shout, twice; "he didn't do anything!" To this, the officer responds, in an almost pleading tone; "ma'am, he had a knife and he wouldn't drop it." Officers take an oath to serve and protect, so it is extra disturbing when someone in a position of authority abuses said authority. It is said cases such as these give more reason to fear our supposed "protectors" rather than respect them.
As Andrew Patrick Edgewood said in a letter to the editor of the Seattle Times, referencing the SPD; "I am now officially scared of all of you." SEATTLE TIMES
Here is the video below, the events begin just before the 1 minute mark:
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