Mayor, chief discuss police training after shooting

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn spoke Wednesday morning about a police officer's fatal shooting this week of a homeless man, calling it "a very tragic situation."

"There are two human beings here," he said. He offered short biographies of the two men, neither of whom he had met. Officer Ian Birk, he said, was a "young officer, recently joined the force" and John T. Williams, "a Native American man, a carver, carved totem poles ... apparently homeless."

He wouldn't comment on whether Birk's actions were appropriate.

"Anytime you have an incident like this, you have to have a very serious investigation," he said.

McGinn said Chief John Diaz called him right after Monday's shooting and then briefed him later. They spoke about the mayor's concerns about police training, McGinn said.

"How can we train and prepare our officers?" he said. "That's something that's been a concern and will continue to be a concern."

Improving officer training came up repeatedly during recent City Council hearings about Diaz's confirmation. McGinn said Wednesday that despite several controversial police incidents this year, he is confident in his choice of Diaz.

"I think Chief Diaz is the right man for the job," he said.

"Like any big city, we have a lot of officers and a lot of contacts, so we have to be aware that there's this potential," he said. "I have great concern that the officers are prepared."

McGinn deferred questions to the police chief about why the officer didn't have a Taser. He said his understanding was that the police department had made a "conscious decision" not to give all officers Tasers. To get a Taser, officers have to go through a higher level of training.

"I think what you've seen in other jurisdictions is the inappropriate use of Tasers, as well," he said.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com