Woodcarver's family to get $1.5 million from city Settlement with John T. Williams family announced Friday

The city of Seattle will pay $1.5 million to settle claims brought by the family of John T. Williams, the woodcarver shot to death by police Officer Ian Birk Aug. 30, 2010.

The settlement was reached after a mediation involving representatives of the Williams estate, Williams' mother and the city. The payment will go to Williams' estate and his mother, according to the City Attorney's Office.

Under the terms of the agreement, the city will pay part of the money in trust for Williams' mother and part of the money into the registry of the court, which will hold the money in escrow while distribution issues are resolved.

The court will approve the appropriate distribution of the money and a special representative will be appointed to represent any other potential heirs, although none has been found or come forward, the City Attorney's Office said in a statement.

The carving of a pole honoring Williams began in March at Seattle Center. The city is providing the Seattle Center carving space through this month between Experience Music Project and the Center House. After April, it’s expected to move to Waterfront Park south of the Seattle Aquarium.The pole, made from a 40-foot cedar log, is expected to be permanently erected in Seattle after it’s completed.

In February, Mayor Mike McGinn declared Feb. 27 John T. Williams Day in Seattle.

“This is one step towards justice, but it is only a step,” Williams’ brother, Rick, said of the $1.5 million settlement in a statement released Friday by the City Attorney’s Office. “Nothing can make up for the loss of my brother.”

Williams was killed in an Aug. 30, 2010, police shooting ruled unjustified by the Police Department's Firearms Review Board. Birk, resigned Feb. 16 after King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg announced charges would not be filed in the incident. Click here to read more about Satterberg’s decision.

Deputy Chief Clark Kimerer called many of Birk's actions "egregious." Other police brass said Birk was right to make contact with Williams that day, but said that the young officer should have called for backup, didn't properly assess the risks and shouldn't have used deadly force.

That decision has sparked several protests, including some violent acts. But the Williams family has spoken against violence.

The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division is conducing a review of facts in the 2010 fatal shooting of John T. Williams to see if Birk violated civil rights laws.

The investigation is separate from one also announced in late March. In that investigation, the federal Justice Department is reviewing department records and other sources to see if there's a pattern or practice of violating federal laws by Seattle police.

Williams has been described as a celebrated, seventh-generation carver who at times sold his work to Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on the Seattle waterfront.

But less than a week before his fatal shooting by a Seattle police officer, Williams was recorded threatening to kill police officers.

In 2009 prosecutors described him as having 30 criminal convictions over two decades, including lewd conduct and indecent exposure. Three days before his death, Williams, a chronic inebriate, was cited for drinking in public.

Read earlier coverage of the Williams shooting below: