Questions Raised Over Use Of Police Force After Two Deadly Incidents In Two Days In Seattle Area

SEATTLE - With two people dead and another in bad shape after run-ins with Police, there are a lot of people talking about how Officers go about their use of force. Many people in the community are wondering if Police Officers are going too far and using too much force.

In Spanaway David Fidler says he witnessed Pierce County Sheriff's Deputies using extreme force to take down the man who refused to leave an apartment unit.

"I heard the taser go off, four five times they tased him," said Fidler.

The 27 year old Spanaway man later died at the hospital. But, Doctor Jonathan Wender who is a University of Washington Professor and former Police Officer says that short electrical burst might not be to blame for his death.

"Most of these cases the death is not caused by the taser itself, the taser is proximately involved, energy conducting weapon is proximately involved, but it's not the cause per se of the death," said Wender.

It wasn't a taser but four shots from Seattle Police Officer Ian Birk's gun that killed John Williams. Deputy Chief Nick Metz says Officer Birk told investigators he felt threatened when Williams did not drop his knife.

"This officer was not equipped with a taser so he did not have that available to him, however, if he had a taser available to him, we do not recommend our officers use a taser in a situation like that, a knife is considered a deadly weapon," said Metz.

Jonathan Wender says it's still too early to tell if Birk handled the situation correctly.

"Somebody with a knife can cover distance very quickly and somebody armed with a knife can literally be on top of you and stabbing you in 1 or 2 seconds in a distance of 21 feet," said Wender.

Seattle Police Chief John Diaz says Officers are learning peaceful resolutions.

"We are working on a whole variety of de-escalation training, we currently do de-escalation training," said Diaz.

Jonathan Wender says Cops have to think on their feet in the field and that's far from easy.

"Officers have to perform a balancing act that's tactical and legal and ethical about what is what the law calls reasonable and necessary, what's the least amount of force an Officer can use to get that person safely into custody," said Wender.

That seems to be especially true in Spanaway when you have people like David Fidler second guessing your actions.

"Evidently, someone overreacted because he's dead," said Fidler.

Q13 Fox News has learned John Williams the man shot and killed by a Seattle Police Officer used to sell his artwork to the Ye Old Curiosity Shop down on Seattle's waterfront. The owner says the Williams family has sold Indian artwork to the shop for the last 100 years.

She's 68 Years Old Mad As Hell And Headed To Jail

Coupeville - She's 68 years old mad as hell and she's headed off to jail. A neighborly feud has landed Carol Magee in the big house. The Coupeville woman was convicted of destroying public property. Magee chose time behind bars to make her point.

"At first I put signs up going down Grateful Acres and then I said hell no, I'm going to put them out here where people can see it, they already know what they did," said Magee.

Carol Magee has some pretty strong opinions, and she wants the whole world to see them, especially now that she's a convicted felon.

"I thought a jury of my peers, little old ladies, but I didn't get a bunch of little old ladies," said Magee.

The whole hubbub is over Grateful Acres Place, the private road that runs on the edge of Magee's property. The private road she tried to keep private even though there's an easement that allows her neighbors to use it.

Carol used to have a gate on the road, but the neighbors tore it down. All that's left now is an old fence post that says liar's lane. Then, along came Puget Sound Energy to put a power box on it.

"This is the property line right here, that's where you can see the power comes up right here, why did they stick this over here it's in the middle of the road," said Magee.

Carol got so ticked off by the power box she ran it over. A neighbor shot video of her doing it.

"Yeah, I backed into it and pushed it off the pad, so, they figured it was worth 1,300 dollars and I said hell I could have put it back on for nothing. I don't want it here, it shouldn't be here," said Magee.

Carol acted as her own attorney in court against a charge of malicious mischief and lost.

"And, besides I wouldn't have gotten any jail time if I'd coped out to a felony, but I don't feel I committed a felony, not gonna do it," said Magee.

Carol's neighbors wouldn't go on camera but did tell me they've tried to explain to her several times where the property lines run and how the easement is divided up. But, they say she's having none of it, she's been combative even trying to block their driveways with her horse trailer.

It doesn't seem like Carol will be running out of strong words anytime soon even as she gets ready to go to jail. She says she doesn't regret her fight and still plans to sue some of her neighbors and PSE.

"It's just not right I'm not a felon, I'm just a personal property owner who's had enough," said Magee.

Carol will report Tuesday morning to the jail in Coupeville to begin her 30 day sentence. She'll also eventually have to pay over $2,000 in fines, court fees, and the cost of fixing that power box she hit.

Katrina Survivor Talks About Escaping Deadly Hurricane

SEATTLE - Tens of thousands of people were forced to evacuate from Hurricane Katrina, many of them left the devastation and were never able to return home because the storm wiped them out. Some of those evacuees like Mary Rennekamp ended up thousands of miles from home right here in the Seattle area.

Mary and her friend made it out of New Orleans just two days before the massive hurricane slammed into the Crescent City. 5 years later and it's still difficult for Mary to talk about Katrina.

"Reports of bodies tied to fences, because they were floating," said Rennekamp.

It's those disturbing images from Katrina burned into Mary's mind that still brings her to tears.

"It wasn't until those stories started coming in that it really started to sink in, the gravity and the magnitude of what was happening," said Rennekamp.

Mary and her friend Erin were two of the lucky ones to get out of New Orleans alive.

"The scariest thing was we couldn't pull ourselves away from the TV, we were so desperate to catch a glimpse of anybody we knew, possibly," said Rennekamp.

Mary's mid-city New Orleans home was underwater everything she owned destroyed.

"So, we knew in that span of that 3 or 4 days that we weren't going to be able to go back to New Orleans for a long time," said Rennekamp.

Mary's father got her a plane ticket to come live with him, she's been in Seattle ever since.

"And, I saw my Dad and I just lost it and I dropped my one little bag and literally just collapsed, he held me and I was balling in the middle of the airport," said Rennekamp.

The Red Cross helped Mary out then, she now works for the organization to help others trying to restart their lives.

"Being on the other side of charity was just it was life changing for me," said Rennekamp.

Mary knows she's lucky, she also knows she may see devastation like this again in her lifetime.

"Know it can happen anywhere, it's really scary, it's the truth," said Rennekamp.

Mary says she loves living in Seattle but, she will always call New Orleans home.

Rape Survivor Helps Women Learn To Fight Back Against Sexual Predators

AUBURN - Her accused attacker may be behind bars, but one woman from Des Moines knows there are more men like him out there. So, she's helping others learn to fight back, as well as teaching herself to move forward.

Rape survivor "Nancy" says her emotional scars are starting to heal with the help of friends. Today, they organized a special self defense course to empower women not to be victims.

It's easy to see Nancy is a fighter; she's been battling her demons ever since John Alan Carter attacked her last month.

"I've had some bumps in the road and I've had a few breakdowns, but, for the most part I'm doing quite well," said Nancy.

Detectives say on July 27th Carter lured Nancy to a Covington home beat her, put a knife to her throat and raped her.

"The very first time I went home I looked behind the shower curtains, I looked in every closet I was pretty fearful," said Nancy.

To help conquer those fears Nancy's good friend Cheri Campeau helped organized this self defense training course with Tiger Patrol Division.

"I think that's what's happening today is we're all, ever since it happened, we're all supporting her and around her and there for her, and this is part of it," said Campeau.

Trainer Abdul Mohamed volunteered his time to help keep these women and girls from becoming victims.

"When you're in that situation what's gonna save you is fighting back, not running away," said Mohamed.

So, Nancy fights on. She wishes she had some of the skills she learned in the course a month ago.

"I'm not sure if it would have helped in this situation, because he had a knife. But, I believe that there is more I could have done in this situation," said Nancy.

John Carter will be arraigned on Wednesday for rape and kidnapping charges. Nancy says she'll be in court for it.

Navy Mom On Mission To Send Care Packages Overseas

BOTHELL - Stacks of snack crackers, boxes of toothpaste, mounds of cookies and massive bags of beef jerky, that's what MaryJo Bader's Bothell living room is stuffed full of. The Navy mom is busy collecting these items for care packages to ship to sailors overseas. It's a true grassroots effort started by a dedicated woman.

"We have the box we'd probably put in a magazine, a book," said Bader.

Seems simple enough you throw in a few basic necessities.

"But, we'd take a couple of ChapSticks, some toothpaste, toothbrush," said Bader.

Also, add some sugary treats.

"Candy might be a candy bar," said Bader.

Maybe even something a little silly like a stuffed animal.

"This is cute because it has a little flag on it," said Bader.

Then, top it all off with love.

"This is the most important part, is letters of encouragement, pictures," said Bader.

MaryJo Bader's gotten good at making care packages sending them to her sailor son overseas for the last couple of years. But, now MaryJo is branching out.

"I love being a mother, so I mothered a whole bunch of sailors," said Bader.

Her son Jonathan got her into the giving mood after he told her a sad story about his buddy.

"But, he said mom he never gets any mail, would you just send him some mail, show him some love, so I did and Ryan was ecstatic," said Bader.

She started asking for donations and before she knew it, one care package became 130. Now, she's hoping to make 198 more, one for each sailor in her son's squadron who won't be able to make it home for the holidays.

It'll cost MaryJo more than $2,000 to ship the boxes.

"We're not a well to do family, we're not rich, we manage we do fine, but we're certainly not rich," said Bader.

MaryJo's family is willing to pass on giving Christmas presents to each other if it'll cover the shipping costs.

So, while it may seem simple it's so much more. With each box MaryJo packs a sailor will get a little bit of home, something this Navy mom has made her mission.

"We should show them that we care, especially the ones that don't have support from home, they need to know somebody back here cares for them," said Bader.

It takes a lot of time to collect all the supplies that's why MaryJo needs donations now. The family will pack the boxes the weekend before Thanksgiving and ship them out for the first week of December. If you would like to help call 425-205-0668.

Scientists Use CO2 Sensors On Space Needle To Help Environment

SEATTLE - You think carbon footprint and chances are the sign outside the Pacific Science Center comes to mind. It measures emissions from your car. But, when it comes to everything else, we might want to start looking up at the Space Needle.

Grab an elevator and head 600 feet straight to the top of the Space Needle and you'll find not just a beautiful view of the environment we live in, but also the latest tool to protect it.

Dr. Christopher Sabine with NOAA says the government agency installed a carbon dioxide detector and another one about 300 feet down back in February.


"So, every 5 minutes we get a new reading from both the upper and lower intakes. The idea here is to actually, specifically measure it in the city, where we're close to a lot of emissions, we have all the cars running around below us, all those things releasing CO2," said Sabine.

Sabine says NOAA decided to put that CO2 sensor on top of the Space Needle, so they could collect measurements throughout our area. And, at a height that gives scientist a bigger picture view of the problem.

"Rather than looking at each individual car, this is a more regional type measurement for trying to get an estimate of the CO2 over pretty much the whole downtown area," said Sabine.

According to Sabine the sensors send all that data from the Space Needle to NOAA and also to the Pacific Science Center.

"You see it goes up in the morning, typically we see CO2 higher in the morning during rush hour traffic and then in the afternoon it drops," said Sabine.

Ellen Lettvin with the Pacific Science Center says its exhibit educates the public about how many pollutants we're putting into the air and the simple things we can do to stop it.

"Just because people read about it all the time they don't necessarily understand what it means. If it helps them understand about what we're doing to our environment," said Lettvin.

For now Sabine says NOAA only has the two Space Needle sensors in town. But, soon scientists hope to have an entire network of them up high and down low, all working together to keep our views majestic.

"Then we can report on what are the CO2 emissions in Downtown Seattle versus Redmond or Kent or whatever," said Sabine.

NOAA, the Space Needle, and Pacific Science Center all helped fund the CO2 sensor project. You can check out those carbon dioxide numbers for yourself at the exhibit inside the Pacific Science Center at Seattle Center.

Parents Grieve For Their Child Killed In Tragic Ice Cave Accident

LAKE STEVENS - She was only 11 years old and died in a tragic accident at the Big Four Ice Caves in Verlot. Grace Tam was killed when a large chunk of ice fell on her July 31st.

Her family says Grace had a smile that could melt your heart, but it was the words she wrote in her journals that defined her spirit for life and love of animals.

Grace's father John Tam says he is devastated about losing his daughter because she had so much to live for.

"She was saying daddy and I just broke out in tears, I'll never hear that again, I'll never hear my daughter," said Tam.

Grace's mother Tamami says the family was hiking near the ice caves when a freak accident took her daughter's life.

"Gracie was standing just right next to me, I was completely OK, just hit Grace," said Tam.

According to John the family wasn't even that close to the ice that broke free and hit Grace.

"We were 15 feet from the ice, beyond the ice, it should not have come down, bounce and then hit her," said Tam.

Tamami Tam feels robbed of all her hopes and dreams she had for her little girl.

"We planned, OK Grace you get married and you have a baby, I asked her can I live close to you, because I'd like to visit you and help with the baby," said Tam.

Her parents say Grace loved to write. Now, her father is trying to publish her journals to raise money to fulfill one of Grace's dreams of opening a shelter for dogs.

"All we really want to do is honor Grace and keep her memory alive that's the main reason," said Tam.

Now, that she's gone, her mother says she'll cherish every single moment she spent with Grace.

"She gave us a wonderful time, we just wish it was longer," said Tam.

But, they still have Grace's words on paper, something mom and dad will keep close to their hearts forever.

"You need to show it all, love is just like happiness and joy. Love is the feeling of a human being. Love is a person that cares for you and shows you they love you with all their heart. Love is like an animal caring and making us smile while hugging, and that is what love explains to me."

A celebration of Grace's life will be held tomorrow afternoon at the family's church in Marysville. John and Tamami say they will sing Amazing Grace as a tribute to their daughter.

Cops Search For Rapist That Terrorized Woman At Knifepoint

COVINGTON - King County Sheriff's Deputies say he's armed, dangerous, and needs to be locked up before he attacks again. Investigators are looking for John Carter they say he brutally raped his latest victim at knifepoint. Carter is a convicted rapist with a history of violence against woman.

Deputies say Carter lured an acquaintance to a Covington home, tied her up, threatened to kill her and then raped her. The victim has asked Q13 Fox News to only identify her as "Nancy."

"Didn't have any clue that he was capable of what he did, so, sad that he did what he did," said Nancy.

According to Nancy she was only trying to give John Carter a ride back from a bus station in Kent to a recovery house in Covington.

"You've got to come in and see the house it's great where I'm staying," said Nancy.

She thought the man she'd met in substance abuse counseling was turning the corner on his troubles, until she turned her back on him for a split second.

"He sucker punched me in the stomach, punched me in the face, through me on the ground and started choking me," said Nancy.

Then she says Carter tied her hands and put duct tape over her mouth.

"He'd grab the knife and put it to my throat and kept saying I'll kill you," said Nancy.

She says he spent the next two hours raping her. She fought back, even tried to escape but couldn't.

"When he was choking me I thought I'm gonna die right now, I really did, this could be it," said Nancy.

Nancy says it was when Carter demanded money that she seized the opportunity to leave the house of horrors. She drove him to an ATM inside a 711 in Renton to get cash.

"I looked at him, we're done I'm in control now, give me my keys and I started fighting him for the keys. I yelled at the people call the Police this man has been beating me all night, call 911" said Nancy.

Not all Rape victims like to talk about their experiences, But, Nancy wants everyone to hear what she says John Carter did to her so that ne never gets the chance to rape again.

"I believe in my heart he will definitely do this again. I want justice served absolutely," said Nancy.

John Carter is 51 years old. He is 6' tall and weighs 200 pounds. He has reddish blonde hair and brown eyes. He has a mustache and is missing his upper teeth. He has multiple tattoos on both arms and the word "Robin" tattooed on one hand. He sometimes wears glasses and talks with a slight lisp. If you see Carter call 911 right away.

Rising Acid Levels In Puget Sound Threaten Oyster Industry

DABOB BAY - It's a multi-million dollar business that depends on Puget Sound to help it thrive. But, those very waters could be killing the shellfish industry. Scientists say the Sound is becoming more acidic and oysters are dying because of it.

Deep inside big barrels of water at Taylor Shellfish Farms at Dabob Bay is a marine cash crop. Soon, the larvae inside them will grow into shelled oysters. But, Bill Dewey with Taylor Shellfish Farms says harvesting them hasn't been easy.

"Well, for the last few years it's become probably the most dominant issue for the West Coast Shellfish industry. If you don't have seed you don't have an industry, we've had a major problem producing it," said Dewey.

That's because the very waters that are supposed to be nurturing the tiny creatures are instead killing them. Richard Feely with NOAA says Puget Sound is becoming more acidic, more corrosive because the seawater has been absorbing so much man-made carbon dioxide over time.

"When you have the water incoming into the hatchery and it's very low PH waters it can kill off the larvae of many of our oyster species," said Feely.

It's a problem Bill Dewey has seen firsthand.

"When it gets that low the oyster shells on this young oyster larvae in the hatchery start to dissolve, essentially dissolving faster than they can grow a new shell," said Dewey.

NOAA and the University of Washington are studying the problem through a system of ocean buoys, dozens of them deployed off the Washington and Oregon Coasts.

UW professor Jan Newton says the buoys will collect valuable data for scientists.

"The first of its kind to make measurements off the coast of Washington not only for the Ocean acidification status, but also for oxygen and phytoplankton blooms," said Newton.

Scientists hope to use the data to figure out patterns in the PH level, so harvesters know the safest time to grow.

Bill Dewey says Taylor Shellfish Farms is using its own high-tech equipment to do the same. What they've found so far has been troubling.

"We started to see the PCO2 levels coming up PH dropping, and so we're worried that we're going to start to see affects on our production," said Dewey.

There is no easy fix. Scientists believe the high acid levels we're seeing right now has been building up in Puget Sound for decades. Bill Dewey believes the best way to protect future generations of oysters is stop polluting the environment right now.

"Even if we change carbon emissions, policies today, we still have got 50 more years of problems coming our way," said Dewey.

In the meantime with a lot of science and a little good luck these babies will grow into shelled oysters, and harvesters who depend on them can keep thriving too.

NOAA and UW researchers will continue to monitor the acid levels from the ocean buoys. Information will be collected from them over the next few months.

Vashon Islanders Pack Football Stadium To Honor Native Son Killed In Afghanistan

VASHON ISLAND - He was a volunteer firefighter, football star, soldier, and Vashon Island son. Today, more than 1,000 people packed into a Vashon Island Stadium to remember Robert Bennedsen. He was killed by a roadside bomb two weeks ago in Afghanistan.

Evan Mattingly praised his best friend for serving his country.

"I just want to thank him for protecting our country, preserving our community and being out there when none of us were," said Mattingly.

Army First Lieutenant Robert Bennedsen was killed by a roadside bomb on July 18th in Afghanistan. In front of a huge crowd at Vashon High School the Army honored the 25 year olds sacrifice.

His college roommate First Lieutenant Dave Stone had kind words for his fallen friend.

"A true leader who cares for and gave his life to protect his brothers and sisters in arms," said Stone.

Besides serving in the Army, Robert was also an island volunteer firefighter. A picture of Robert will ride on the dash of his old fire truck and another one inside the helmet of Mike Kirk.

"It would be something that can keep him an inspiration to me," said Kirk.

There were many tears but also plenty of smiles as friends and family remembered a few stories. Evan Mattingly reminisced about his time on the water with Robert.

"Robert loved to fish, but was a terrible fisherman. No actually he was a good fisherman, but he was a bad catcher, couldn't catch anything," said Mattingly.

Robert graduated from Vashon High School in 2004. He was a state champion in wrestling and an all-state running back. He earned a full Army ROTC scholarship to Seattle University.

Friend Manu Samanna-Spagnoli says he'll certainly remember Robert's many accomplishments, but will miss his infectious grin the most.

"So, Robert take it easy until we meet again, do what you do best, just keep smiling," said Samanna-Spagnoli.

As a final tribute to Robert the Vashon High School football team will retire his number 32 this season, to honor his accomplishments on this field.

Robert is the first Vashon Island resident to be killed in the war in Afghanistan. The Army presented his family with a purple heart and bronze star for Robert's military service.