John T. Williams, originally uploaded by krulich.
A new mural of John T. Williams, the man killed by a Seattle Police officer at Boren and Howell last month, has appeared on the 11th Ave poster wall. We wrote about some of his Capitol Hill connections here. Thanks to krulich for adding the picture to our CHS flickr pool. The October 22 Coalition organized a march in September protesting the killing. The Seattle rally location for their national 10/22 protest against police brutality is Seattle Central starting at 5 PM.
Unreal…the man was arrested over 100 times, convicted felon a dozen times over. He bothered all of us as we walked down the road. Exposed his penis to passing women. Took dumps in apartment doorways. Screamed threats at people standing in line at Dick’s. He was not a gentlemen carver that gently poked around town telling native stories and saving injured little birds. The man was a violent, belligerent drunk. He was very talented at one time but his life was ruined by booze. The whole situation sucks, but one thing is for sure…Simply drop the deadly weapon you are holding when you are contacted by police.
and not one of these things means he deserved to be shot dead. and yes, that includes refusing to drop a 2.5 inch blade pocket knife (i.e. not a deadly weapon by SPD’s definition)
WONDERFUL!
If you are deaf in one ear, and not holding a deadly weapon, you may not be aware of the crazy cop aiming to shoot you.
Any life is precious. And being a drunk is not an offense worthy of the death penalty. Let your rationalizations melt into liquid, into paint, slathered on walls above the din, painting pictures of who we think we are, who we wish we were, how we wish thinks could have been again. …what’s sad, is some state/city workers gonna get paid to remove the art and leave this and that sign or symptom of a noisy, irreverent, disconnected age.
The contempt shown by MD exemplifies the vast hateful ignorance we struggle against. No one has the right to decide who can live in a society. The humane spiritual person knows that one of the most vital sayings ever is ancient: Judge not.
The fact is: John T Williams was and is loved and respected by HIS community and many others. The blade he had was OF A LEGAL SIZE (3″). Over 3.5″ is illegal. He was deaf in one ear , wearing earbuds & WALKING AWAY from Officer Ian Birk when witnesses say he was shouted at by the cop, from the back.
Within one minute he was shot four times, and dying.
There had been no criminal compliant made about this man, no reason for his being approached at all.
Unfortunately, we must discover if Ian Birk felt the same as Messy Drunk.
That would explain a lot, wouldn’t it?
Shame on all you shrivel souled mean bastards. You’ll reap just what you sew.
Justice for John T Williams!
Of course it’s horrible what happened to Mr. Williams! However, most of the people so willing to canonize him since he was killed would have never given him much more than a sneer if they saw him on the street.
The whole situation is seriously f-ed up, but turning him into an icon is a huge disservice to him. The man was *severely* troubled. On more than one occasion, I witnessed him making belligerent and violent gestures to others. On one occasion, he punched me in the shoulder and repeatedly called me a faggot when I told him I didn’t have any money to give him.
This whole thing is ridiculous. We should be using this opportunity to bring attention to people in need, like Mr. Williams, whose life was destroyed by alcohol. What we SHOULDN’T be doing is brushing the reality of his life under the carpet and pretending he was a saint.
He was a very screwed up man, and suffered a horrible unjust death. However, seeing his face plastered all over town is really beginning to piss me off. None of you people so much as lifted a finger to help him when he needed it, and now half of Seattle is pretending they never snubbed him, or called the cops on him because they were sick of being inconvenienced by his repeated brazen displays of inebriation.
Have you ever noticed that whenever the police screw up and kill someone that person was “a loving son” “just about to go back to school” “dreamed of saving the world” etc. no matter what their actual criminal history. That someone was killed unnecessarily is horrible. But the police get absolutely no compassion. We expect them to defend us, to be there in a heartbeat when something goes wrong, to put themselves in harm’s way, and then, when they are jacked up on fear and adrenalyn, to have perfect judgement.
No cop is aiming to shoot you. A pocket knife can be used as a weapon.
kgdlg, Linde Knighton, OctoberLeaf, Humanbeing,
Why didn’t you help this great man when he needed you most?
I didn’t know this man, so I did not have a chance to help him personally. But I do work every day to house homeless individuals and families, so I am trying to do my part. This entire situation is absolutely heartbreaking, both because he was so troubled and because he was killed in this manner.