SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn is proclaiming Sunday as John T. Williams Day in honor of a woodcarver shot and killed by a city police officer.
The mayor’s office says Deputy Mayor Darrel Smith will present the proclamation to Williams’ relatives.
SeattlePI.com says Williams was a celebrated, seventh generation carver. However, less than a week before his Aug. 30 fatal shooting by Officer Ian Birk, Williams was recorded on a patrol car video making a threat to kill police. In 2009, prosecutors described him as having 30 criminal convictions over two decades, including lewd conduct and indecent exposure.
Birk said he shot Williams after the man refused commands to put down a knife. A Police Department review board found the killing was unjustified. Birk resigned Feb. 16 after King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced no criminal charges would be filed.
