8/15/01 SEATTLE – Members of a largely black mob of angry Rainier Beach residents that swarmed outside the emergency room at Harborview Medical Center on Monday were expressing apologies to police by Tuesday.
The incident occurred after officers fired on an armed man who had allegedly shot and killed another man and bludgeoned two children – ages 2 and 6 – with a handgun. Authorities said the 2-year-old died and the 6-year-old will likely face reconstructive surgery.

The suspect died on Tuesday from gunshot wounds inflicted by police as he fled the house. Authorities said the suspect, believe to be in his 20s, had repeatedly pointed a pistol at the officers as he ran. He was wounded and died the next day.

After shooting the suspect, officers found the bodies of the man and the two children. One of the officers, a former emergency-room nurse, gave the 6-year-old CPR until medics arrived and the child was transported to Harborview.

A crowd of 60 to 70 people had gathered around the medical center by about 9:30 p.m. Fistfights broke out and a smaller group of people rushed into the emergency room, prompting police to move in and force them back.

Many people in the crowd said they believed the police were somehow responsible for the deaths and injuries and angry words were spoken. A police spokesman sharply denied the rumors and emphasized the only shots that came from police came on the street during the final confrontation with the armed suspect.

“People want to believe the worst,” said John Smith, a great-uncle of the dead toddler, Tre Vaugn Ford Spruel. Smith said the night before, he had blamed police for the child’s death. “We looked at all the other shootings of black people and we were mad at them. We were wrong and I’m sorry about it.”

One witness, identified only as Ali, said there are times when a black man has reason to be angry with the police. “But this isn’t one of them,” he said.

A 6-year-old girl who Jackson allegedly pistol whipped was listed in serious condition with a skull fracture.
Police said that Jackson, 20, was high on "sherm," a marijuana cigarette soaked in embalming fluid, when he went to visit his friend, Dante Coleman at Coleman's apartment Monday night.

According to police, witnesses said Jackson had become paranoid and prone to violence after smoking the   increasingly popular drug for 10 days.

"We have statements from two individuals about Mr. Jackson that he was smoking over the last 10 days an illegal substance called sherm," Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said Tuesday. "Sherm is a formaldehyde-based substance that is placed either on cigarettes or marijuana and has an effect of, according to drug information, of creating both paranoia and extreme anger. We also know that people have given us information that he had reacted violently or come off on some people within the last several weeks."

According to police, that was what happened Monday night in Coleman's apartment in south Seattle. A fight broke out between the two men, and before it was over, Coleman, 20, was dead of gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

The toddler, 23-month-old TreVieon Spreul was beaten so badly that police at first assumed that he had been shot, too — reports that angered neighbors, who assumed the child had been caught in a crossfire between police and Jackson.

"I had reported last night that I believed the 2-year-old had been shot, but in fact the blunt trauma force had created such a horrific crime scene within the apartment, you can see from the amount of blood on the firearm, it was a difficult crime scene for everyone," Kerlikowske said. "It was very difficult to determine exactly what had occurred. A lot of our veteran officers were extremely horrified by what they saw that night, and will live with that for a long time."

Officers Fired ‘in Fear’

Jackson also beat Samunique Wilson, 6, his niece by marriage, causing multiple injuries to her face and head, police said.

"We've absolutely tied the gun in his hand to the injuries [to the two children]," Kerlikowske said.

When police got to the scene, they saw a man standing on the balcony of Coleman's apartment with a gun in his hand. When they called out to him to drop the gun, he pointed it at them and pulled the trigger several times, but the pistol was empty, Kerlikowske said.

The man appeared to load the gun, then jumped off the balcony and started to run, the police chief said. Three officers chased him, and he turned and again pointed the gun at them. The three fired off eight shots, killing him.

"So we know Mr. Jackson turned and refused their orders, had the gun in his hand, and officers then fired, certainly in fear of what he was doing," Kerlikowske said. "We also know these officers knew a person was down inside the house.

The gun was empty when police recovered it, police said.

"Having the gun you saw in his hands doesn't give the officer any option of saying, 'Gee, I hope it's jammed,' or 'I hope it's not loaded,'" Kerlikowske said.

So the police shoot a BG, who has killed 2 people, 1 adult by a gunshot wound, 1 child by baeting him with the gandgun, and injured another child by beating. The police appear totally justified in the shooting, but get blamed for the death of the child.

Something about waiting to gather info before deciding what you "know" happened sound familar? anyone? Imbroglio is that you in the back with your hand up??