Updated Mar 28, 2011 - 2:53 pm

Native American community won't let police shooting be swept under the rug

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Source: Seattle News
Originally published: Sep 3, 2010 - 12:04 pm

Members of John T. Williams family and the Chief Seattle club rally to ensure death of John T. Williams won't be swept under the rug. (KIRO Radio/Chris Sullivan)

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By CHRIS SULLIVAN
KIRO Radio

The crowd erupted into cheers when Alex Jackson shouted "that policeman should be charged with murder." Jackson claims he's the victim of police brutality and excessive force in Seattle.

Jackson and other members of Seattle's Native American community are demanding a full and transparent review of this week's shooting death of 50-year-old John Williams. The nearly deaf Native carver was shot by Officer Ian Birk when he failed to drop his 3-inch carving knife near Boren and Howell Streets.

Tribal members standing together claim this shooting was unjustified and a clear case of excessive force. "In the end we all want justice," Pamela Masterman Sterns told the crowd. "But there can be no justice without answers and accountability. That's what John Williams deserves, and that's what Seattle deserves."

Williams' friends and tribal family say he was the least threatening person one could imagine. They say the only thing he could have possible scared was a piece of yellow cedar.

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