SEATTLE (AP) — A King County judge has set Jan. 10 for the start of an inquest into a Seattle police officer’s fatal shooting of a Native American woodcarver.
An inquest jury will decide whether Officer Ian Birk had a sufficient reason to use deadly force when he shot John T. Williams on Aug. 30 on a Seattle sidewalk.
Birk has said he fired because Williams didn’t respond to three commands to drop a knife he was carrying.
The Seattle Times says some witnesses have told police that the 50-year-old Williams did not act in a threatening manner.
