1/19/11

Jury deliberations begin in Williams shooting inquest


Today Jurors begin deliberations in the inquest into the police shooting of First-Nations woodcarver John T. Williams. As mentioned before, Cienna Madrid's coverage at Slog, The Stranger blog, has the been the best local coverage so far. Check out the latest post on the questions jurors must now answer.  Each juror must answer yes, no, or unknown to these following questions.

1. On August 30, 2010, did Seattle Police Officer Ian Birk observe John T. Williams crossing the street?
2. Was John T. Williams holding an open knife at the time he was first observed by Officer Birk?
3. Did Officer Birk get out of his patrol car to contact Williams?
4. Did Officer Birk gesture to John T. Williams to come back to Officer Birk's location?
5. Did John T. Williams have a knife in his hand when Officer Birk contacted him?
6. Did Officer Birk order John T. Williams to put the knife down?
If your answer to question 6 was yes, please answer the following questions:
6a. Did Officer Birk order John T. Williams to put the knife down more than once?
6b. Did John T. Williams have sufficient time to put the knife down after Officer Birk's order?
6c. Did John T. Williams try to put the knife down after Officer Birk's order?
6d. Did John T. Williams put the knife down before Officer Birk began to fire his weapon?
7. Was the front of John T. Williams' upper body partially turned towards Officer Birk when Officer Birk began to fire his weapon?
7a. If no, was John T. Williams turning towards Officer Birk when Officer Birk fired his weapon?
8. Did Officer Birk fire his weapon at John T. Williams on August 30, 2010?
9.When Officer Birk fired his weapon, did John T. Williams have a knife in his hand?
9a. If yes, was John T. Williams blade open when Officer Birk fired his weapon?
10. Did Officer Birk believe that John T. Williams posed an imminent threat of serious physical harm to Officer Birk at the time Officer Birk fired his weapon?
11. Based on the information available at the time Officer Birk fired his weapon, did John T. Williams then pose an imminent threat of serious physical harm to Officer Birk?
12. Did John T. Williams die in King County on August 30, 2010?
13. Did John T. Williams die of gunshot wounds caused by Officer Birk?