Father of Cafe Racer shooter wants changes for mentally ill

The father of the man who killed four people at Cafe
Racer, and another in downtown Seattle, says his son’s
actions should lead to changes.

Walter Stawicki says there is no excuse for what his son
did, but it’s too difficult for someone to get help for a
family member with mental illness.

In our state, a person has to be deemed an “imminent
threat” to himself or others before being involuntarily
committed.

Stawicki tells KING 5 that allows a time bomb to
keep ticking.

“Wives, children, best of friends, neighborhoods, it’s too
late for all of those people when the system finally
notices something should be done,” Stawicki said.

Last year, a law was passed that changed the threshold for
involuntary commitment from an imminent threat to a
substantial threat. But that law never went into effect
because of budget problems.

Ian Stawicki murdered five people in Seattle last month
before killing himself.