A massive totem pole was carried by 120 people along the Seattle waterfront on Sunday as a tribute to a man who was shot to death by a police officer in 2010.

John T. Williams, a 50-year-old member of the Ditidaht people on Vancouver Island, was fired upon by rookie officer Ian Birk in downtown Seattle.

The officer's dash cam caught the moments leading up to the Williams' death on tape. The video shows Williams crossing the street while carving a piece of wood and then Birk exiting his car. Williams was dead seven seconds later.

Officer Birk testified at an inquest that Williams aggressively turned towards him.

"I started telling him to put the knife down, as soon as he turned far enough that I could still see the knife," Birk said in court.

Evidence showed Williams' three-inch knife was not open when found at the scene.

Thousands of people marched through downtown Seattle when it was announced Birk wouldn't be charged.

Afterwards, Williams' family sued the City of Seattle and reached a $1.5-million settlement.

Birk resigned from the Seattle Police Department on Feb. 16, 2011, the day the department's Firearms Review Board ruled the fatal shooting was unjustified.

Sunday would have been Williams' birthday, and his brother Rick Williams thinks the totem pole memorial is the perfect gift.

"He'd be honoured with what we did," he said.

Like his late brother, Rick is also a carver, so making the totem pole was a labour of love.

"Long time, I got over 2,000 hours in this. Stayed up last night, thinking, watching," he said.

The totem pole now towers over Seattle Center near the Space Needle, and Rick hopes it will bring people together.

"I feel him standing beside me right now. I feel his hand on my shoulder," he said.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Nafeesa Karim