According to an autopsy obtained by the Seattle Times, local woodcarver John Williams was struck by four bullets in his right side when he was fatally shot by Officer Ian Birk on August 30. Information that might contradict the Seattle cop’s claim that Williams posed a threat.The autopsy was leaked to the Times by a lawyer representing Williams’ family, who rhetorically asked the paper, “Where is the threat?”Initially Birk claimed that Williams advanced on him while holding a legal three-inch folding knife he used to make his carvings. A claim that the department eventually backed off on.Williams’ family contends that the 50-year-old member of Nuu-Chah-Nulth First Nations in British Columbia probably never heard Birk ordering him to drop the knife. Williams was deaf in one ear and may have been wearing headphones at the time.Williams was shot once in the right chest, once in the right chin, and once each on both his upper and lower right arm. Ballistics experts have yet to determine in what order the shots were fired or which one was fatal.Meanwhile, the police department refused to comment in lieu of releasing its own findings on the case. Those are expected soon.
More Stories From This Author
King County accepting flood debris for free
Three stations will take your garbage and yard waste on weekends through Jan. 11.
December 22, 2025 12:00 pm
Renton man accused of ramming Seattle police
The suspect was allegedly in a stolen Porsche.
By
Joshua Solorzano • December 22, 2025 9:30 am
Update: I-90 reopens after debris closes portion in North Bend
UPDATE: As of 1:36 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11, all lanes of eastbound I-90 have reopened at Winery Road (milepost 27),…
December 10, 2025 3:30 pm
