SPD: Not known whether fatal shooting victim lunged at officer | Crime

SEATTLE -- Seattle Police Chief John Diaz said the department has "many more questions than answers" in Monday's fatal shooting of a man by a police officer in downtown Seattle.

The police department held a news conference on Tuesday during which the chief said the officer involved in the shooting "issued at least three commands for the suspect to drop his knife before deploying his service weapon" at Boren Ave. And E. Howell St.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the shooting victim as 50-year-old John T. Williams, and cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds.

Deputy Chief Nick Metz said Officer Ian Birk, a West Precinct patrol officer, was stopped at a light when he saw a man crossing the street with a knife and a wooden board in hand.

"And he could see the knife - the blade of the knife, and he could see he was doing something to the board," Metz said. "The officer thought it was important to find out what was going on and why this person had in public an open-blade knife."

The officer got out of his car and approached the man, Metz said, adding the officer activated his in-car patrol camera, but the situation unfolded out of frame.

The officer's microphone was on, however, and he was heard confront the man and order him three times to drop the knife, Metz said.

"He yelled these commands, and these commands were heard by some of the witnessed interviewed as well," said Metz.

When the man refused, the officer opened fire approximately 9 to 10 feet from the man, hitting him. Metz said it is not yet clear whether the man did, in fact, make a threatening move at the officer as investigators had previously said.

"The man did turn toward the officer. Whether or not the man lunged -- we're still trying to verify that information," he said. "A lot of information provided keeps ever-changing as we talk to witnesses and officers that were there."

"The officer does believe his safety was in danger," Metz added.

Williams was pronounced dead at the scene. The 27-year-old officer was not hurt.

Officials said Birk is a two-year veteran of the force, and had never before been involved in a shooting. He was not injured in Monday's incident.

Williams' friend, William Cross, believes the victim meant no harm with his knife.

"His father and his grandfather were woodcarvers. And that's what his passion was. He loved to carve," said Cross.

When asked why the officer didn't opt to use a Taser on the man instead, Metz said the officer was not equipped with a Taser at the time.

"However, if he did have a Taser, we do not recommend that our officers use a Taser in a situation like that," he said. "A knife is considered a deadly weapon."

According to city code, it is unlawful for anyone to "carry concealed or unconcealed on his or her person any dangerous knife, or carry concealed on his or her person any deadly weapon other than a firearm."

The code qualifies "any dangerous knife" as "any fixed-blade knife and any other knife having a blade more than three and one-half inches in length."

Investigators said they do not yet know whether there was a language barrier between the officer and the victim. They added the victim was known to officers in the area, though it was not clear whether Birk knew the man.

"He's been hanging around downtown many years. He's been arrested numerous times," Metz said.

"No one in the department wants to end up using deadly force on an individual," said Diaz. "It's something we all have had to do."

The chief said the department will conduct "a transparent investigation and complete investigation," and urged any witnesses to come forward.

"Please, I need you to call our homicide unit. We are looking for additional witnesses," he said. "We are trying to determine what happened in a situation that happened in less than a minute."

Diaz said after the homicide investigation is through, the case will be reviewed by a shooting review board.