Posted at 2:11 p.m. and updated with better sound: The first version of the video we posted included a cacophony from talk radio (presumably playing inside the patrol car) in the left channel. We’ve removed the left audio channel in the video below so you can hear Officer Birk’s mic much more clearly as he gives commands to Williams and recounts the events to officers afterward.
Here’s the just-released, 17-minute video taken from the dashboard camera of Seattle Police Officer Ian Birk’s patrol car before, during, and after he fatally shot John T. Williams:
Just after 1:00 minute, the video shows Williams shuffling across the street—carrying a board and minding his own business—in front of Birk’s squad car. Birk jumps out and yells, “Hey, put the knife down.” Then Birk follows Williams out of the frame. After two more commands (audible while the men are off screen) there are shots fired that killed Williams. A woman is also shown crossing the street who appears to witness the whole thing from maybe 20 feet away.
After 2:00, Officer Birk says, “Ma’am, he had a knife and he wouldn’t drop it.”
At 2:30, backup cars arrive.
At about 3:00, a voice (probably Birk’s) says, “Yeah, I am okay. He had the knife open.” (The investigation has since said that police found the knife closed.)
At 5:10, another officer can be heard telling Birk, “You did the right thing. Hang in there, Ian.”
this is too horrible for words.
Well that was disturbing. Sports radio adds to the creepiness.
We worship death. Watch it again. Watch it again.
I’d like to see the video from the first and second police cars that arrived after Burke. Those cameras would probably show Burke’s body language after the shooting.
I wish I hadn’t watched that 🙁
In the span of 40 seconds someone goes from walking across the street, minding their own business, doing something his family has done for generations, to being shot to death by a Seattle cop.
Fuck. The. Police.
Never trust a cop.
1:53 – “Did you just shoot him?!”
2:03 – “He didn’t do anything!”
to which he replies, “Ma’am he had a knife and wouldn’t drop it.”
She saw. She knew.
The police had made a case in the media that Mr. Williams was an aggressive and threatening inebriate towards police on many occasions. I saw a guy crossing the street with his carving in that video. It just changed my whole perspective on the case. I’d love to hear what the woman who was crossing the street has to say.
Murder. Followed by lies.
@3:15: “who’s the designated shooter? Who already shot him? So shoot him again if need be…”
Did I really hear that correctly? That’s fucking gut-wrenching.
You know what? I think somebody puts a carving knife in the cop’s hand and gives him five seconds of warning before somebody puts five rounds in him. If he can take down the guy with the gun, he’d be justified, right? Make him prove his point.
Instead, he’ll probably just keep getting paid to not work until they put him on a desk job until enough people forget. I no longer have any respect for the SPD.
FUCK YOU SPD. FUCKING ASSHOLES
Horrible. Mrs. 1:40 needs to step forward and give testimony. This was straight-up murder by police. Ian Birk should be in prison.
7 seconds pass from the first “Hey!”…notice the officer never stated he was with the police…to when the first shot is fired.
Disgraceful!! He should be tried for murder!
I can say this about many of the men and women in blue…they’d be better off dead than alive. Not all of them but huge portion of them.
When I see a police officer walking down the street I cross to the other side. They scare me more than gang members in this town.
I’ll bet the Guild has this on endless loop at tonite’s Happy Hour.
After all, so long as the Council and Mayor won’t insist on civilian oversight, they can run scotfree through our streets doing whatever they want.
if only he would have went after the white car that ran the yellow light!
so fucked.
Many, many words can be applied to Officer Birk: judge, jury, executioner… liar, asshole….
But the most fitting one is: Murderer.
Murderer.
(short edited version)
“BANG! BANG! BANG!”
“Surrender, we’re the police!”
“Your dead corpse has the right to remain silent. In the event you stop being dead, the court will appoint someone who will not defend you, and I’ll be let free again without bail.”
“Do you understand these rights as I have read them to your dead and lifeless body?”
This is terrifying. No announcement that the man is a police officer, in seven seconds he goes from yelling at someone while their back is turned to firing five shots. Absolutely terrifying.
@10 … I think you heard right.
and why no audio until he is already out of his vehicle? wouldnt he have said something to “dispatch” as pulled the var ahead those last couple of feet and jumped out?
plain execution.
wow. the police should not put up with this. if they really want to be considered the good guys they need to prosecute this stuff. there should be no tolerance for this kind of harassment and murder. none.
12 seconds between getting out of the car and killing that man.
7 seconds between yelling at the man and killing the man.
4 seconds between telling the man to put the knife down and killing the man.
Listen to him repeat ‘Ordered multiple times to drop it.’ He keeps repeating it, over and over.
You can hear it in his voice — desperately trying to justify it to himself. Desperately trying to excuse what he just did.
Fucking MURDERER.
Absolutely fucking disgusting. The only positive thing I can say about this video is that it’s existence might get him convicted of murder.
If he doesn’t rot in prison, may he be torn limb from limb by an angry mob.
he looks so threatening, you know, to the general public as he shuffles across the street in his socks (?????)
this makes me very sad. and very angry
@10, This sound bite sounds horrible in light of the circumstances we now know, but for the officers arriving on scene, simply knowing that shots were fired on a supposedly hostile subject brandishing a knife–and assuming the suspect was still alive and still possibly aggressive–it sounds more like routine safety measures, i.e. one officer covering other officers who are approaching a suspect with a weapon (which is standard procedure and how Officer Birk should’ve handled the situation–by calling for backup before approaching the suspect). Here’s the whole dialogue:
“Hold on guys, let’s get over here, let’s get in single file, we’ll walk together, alright? Who’s the designated shooter? We’ve already shot him, so [but?] shoot him again if need be.”
“I got it.”
“Let’s move up.”
“I got it, I got the suspect.”
“We’re going to move up, alright?”
“Go.”
“Moving.”
“Ready, get the cuffs out. Grab him, grab his hands, roll him over…”
Still horrible to listen to, though.
I can’t get over the short amount of time elapsed inbetween getting out the squad car & gunshots……whoa
This is awful. Fuck SPD.
Absolutely chilling. A gruesome act of murder. They must try Officer Ian Birk for murder. I can’t remember–had Mr. Williams and Birk met previously? If so, this seems like some kind of atrocious score-settling. If not, this looks like antisocial personality disorder. SPD, please start holding your officers accountable.
And this is written by someone with friends on the force!
Murder? Oh ladies, grow up. The most he’s guilty if is not following proper procedures. Fire him.
And sorry nervous white middle class Sloggers, unless you’re shit faced, carrying a knife and refusing to follow legal orders of an officer, you’ll be fine, no need to pee yourselves when the SPD comes to help you one day.
If he isn’t charged are you all going to demand McGinn resign or dies the buck not stop with you guy?
@31
fuck you, your mother, and your dog, you physcholigically fractured bastard. argue your crazy ape-man idiocy to the wall.
Cops really shouldn’t be listening to anything in the squad car radio for the simple reason that it interferes with important dialog that is being recorded…..its akin to having a mouse running around on your dashboard impeding the camera…..essentially defeating the purpose. I really think this should be a law….or perhaps the engineers/mechanics who wire up the car can have the AM/FM radio muted when the police car lights are turned on.
@32 no, it’s Council that refuses to require civilian accountability for the SPD in the negotiations – they’re the legislative body, remember?
@34, the right channel has very little of the radio on it. If anyone wants to copy the right channel over to the left before I do, It’d be appreciated. Either way, this could be cleaned up a lot.
Though, even with the audio cleaned up, I don’t think it’s going to make the crime here any more obvious. It’s already obvious enough. Though I might like to hear what else this sniveling piece of shit happened to say afterward. It’d be a case study in self deception.
Why is there no discussion about getting these shit-stained drunken Indians off our streets? They need to be in jail or back on the “rez”. Give them a choice.
Let’s demonize the entire profession. Logical-ass motherfuckers up in here.
Ian Birk really strutted as he got out of the car and walked toward Williams. That sort of surprised me when I watched this.
@36 – We’ve isolated the right channel and will have a new video with only the right-channel audio posted asap.
Hang that man from a fucking tree.
@36
oh interesting, I wonder if the right channel microphone is mounted outside the vehicle and the left channel mic is inside?
Strutted? Would you prefer cops sashayed?
@38 The CHZA wrote, “Let’s demonize the entire profession. Logical-ass motherfuckers up in here.”
Someone please direct me to a single instance of a police officer denouncing the actions of this ogre.
The whole incident is incredible. But what’s most striking is that from contact to killing was less than the time it takes for a lady to cross a street.
This cop should be prosecuted for murder. He had the intent. He did the act. If a jury buys the argument it was self defense, so be it, but he should be prosecuted. He should receive no immunity as he failed to follow proper procedures.
Working in Pioneer Square, I walk by drunken homeless people everyday and I have yet felt a need to run away from them, let alone shoot them. This cop made a tragic mistake, now he must be responsible for his actions. Very simple. I’d convict him.
“41
Hang that man from a fucking tree.”
He’s already dead.
The most upsetting aspect of this altercation is that all of it could have been resolved with words.
Anyone else notice the video doesn’t actually show what happened ?
Also, notice Birk already had his gun out by the time he’s on frame, and waits until himself and Williams are completely out of the camera’s sight. He did not appear frightened, if anything he seemed relaxed and purposeful. Maybe even a little excited.
At first I was willing to write this off as simple incompetence (for which he should be tried, of course), but after seeing this there’s absolutely no way to continue believing that.
As for the woman potentially testifying, where is she? If somebody watching recognizes her, can they vouch for her safety? Who handles witness protection when the murderer is a cop?
@49 … okay, that last paragraph is just goofy.