Seattle carver's slaying angers B.C. chief

[walksalone11]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/09/03/bc-carver-shot-seattle.html

 

Native-American leaders condemn police shooting

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/426172_wiilliams03.html

 

Questions raised after five police killings in a week

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/426224_copkillings05.html?source=mypi

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Susanne Chambers []

Subject: My brother shot in Seattle for carving wood

 

On Monday night, a nameless, faceless homeless man was shot to death by Seattle Police. Except this man was not nameless or faceless or homeless. When the news story mentioned that an unknown man had been killed while whittling, I feared the worst. I called and when more details became available, I confirmed that this was John T, a man who is my brother (through ceremony) and my friend.

 

What happened to him is unconscionable. John was raised on the streets and often homeless. John was a fourth generation carver; he did not beg for money. He learned to carve from his father, Ray Williams, who was also a lifelong street carver in the Seattle-Tacoma area. John always told me that his ancestors were whale hunters, but that they stopped whaling when they saw the decimation of sea life happening around them and were unable to continue. With the loss of their previous livelihood, his great-grandfather decided that the family would learn to be carvers.

 

John could attract audiences at Pike Place Market, where people would sit or stand watching him work with nothing more than a pocket jack-knife, mostly those with a locking blade so the blade would not close on his fingers as he deftly moved over the wood, flipping it back and forth. Many people admired his skill. John didn't usually have pieces in galleries because he carved and sold his pieces for his immediate needs-- food, lodging, or a bottle of beer. Some didn't consider him a professional artist or carver because of his lifestyle. Nonetheless, for generations he and his family made a lot of money for  Pier 57 and the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop as well as other gift shops around Seattle Center . Some Seattle police officers would have him carve Northwest designs in their nightsticks.

 

Yes, John has battled alcoholism all his life, the same alcoholism that grips the lives of so many hopeless people. Let us not forget that the Native Americans, especially the homeless, have had everything taken from them, a people whom more than one politician in history has called “less than dogs.” Not only looked down upon because of poverty, but with disgust and despised as worthless people, obstacles to “progress”. But John was not worthless. He was a gifted artist, a human being. Although the alcohol sometimes made it hard to help or live with him, he was valuable. Many times if family had nowhere to stay, or were hungry, John would sit down and work and everyone was fed. He was generous to a fault. Some people took advantage of him, and when he was drunk they would empty his pockets and walk away, but many more were loyal friends.

 

On the night in question, John was working--he was not panhandling, was not threatening or accosting a citizen. He was working. He is used to being told by police to move himself, and likely that is what he was doing when he was shot: picking up and walking away. With more than four decades of experience in street life, John did get himself into minor trouble from things he would foolishly do when impaired. But John was not a violent offender or a dangerous armed man who presented a threat.

 

Anyone who has worked for a limited income knows that waiting for a money at the end of the month is hard; John may have been carving for beer money—maybe that is wrong, but does it call for him to be shot four times until dead? Bear in mind that this is not a Bowie knife he was carrying: he carves with a pocket knife, the same kind that he taught me to carve with and which I and many others often carry around. In fact John has had knives taken away from him so many times that he usually never has a knife worth more than a few bucks.

 

I am not homeless and I don't interact with police often. When I do, I personally am often frightened by their intimidation and their attitude of power and entitlement. I find that too often that the police seem to seek confrontation, as if to remind us that they have the power in every interaction and goad us to test them. I appreciate that the police have a difficult job, but I have seen police cars pull up at bus stops where there is no one waiting for a bus except two Native men resting from a walk up First Hill; they roll the window down and tell the men to move on, that they can't sit there. I want to jump out of my car and say leave them alone, this is a free country, but I am afraid to. I know that generally these are the exception, and in fact many Seattle police know John and know that he would rather walk than confront police. In fact many officers would stop and visit with him, call an ambulance or detox van if he was impaired. Officers who knew him know that he was sight impaired, hearing impaired and limped from being hit by a car in a parking lot as a younger man.  In more than 42 years on the streets working not once was John cited for fighting with the police, not once resisting arrest.

 

Life was hard on John T. He had his share of health issues. John had aged even further than his 50 years would suggest because of his lifestyle. Even though as a young man he knew that he could die on the street from a bad encounter, He was always afraid of being beat to death by other street people; my hope was always there that he would not meet a violent end. I hope the investigation will ask where was this police officer's nightstick, why could he not have evaluated the situation better, or called for backup. It is not illegal to have a pocketknife, it certainly should not be illegal to work on a piece of wood. While the investigation is unfolding, the one thing I am certain of is that he would never confront a police officer. He did not deserve to die like this, and I hope that this experience and the others we have seen in our city  will call us to question the use of excessive force and violence by our police force. John would talk to anyone asking about his carving often he would hold a project out so you could see it better and give you a half smile. I will miss his smile.

 

Sincerely and with great sadness,  Susanne “Cj” Chambers