Cell Theory
Last week’s Journal article, “Who Killed Martin Cotton?,” relied heavily on the words and opinions of Jager. I stated in the article that Cotton was placed in a fully padded cell. That was based on what Jager told me last Monday. Last Thursday, I took a tour of the cell for myself and discovered that it was not, in fact, fully padded. Rather, the floor and a partition that blocks the toilet from the view of passing guards is covered with, what I was told by a corrections officer, is 1/4-inch-thick rubber. I touched the padding myself. It’s similar to the squishy rubber material used for playgrounds to lighten a child’s fall — it is by no means plush.
The cell Cotton was placed in is known as a “sobering cell.” Unlike a “safety cell,” which has rubber-coated walls, floors and a recessed toilet, the sobering cell has light blue cinderblock walls and a metal toilet. Why wasn’t a visibly agitated Cotton, too combative even to be medically screened, placed in a fully padded safety cell? That’s a question for Sheriff Gary Philp, who is unlikely to speak on the subject now since earlier last week Cotton’s family filed a wrongful death and civil rights violation claim against city and county agencies.
Reached last Friday, Jager said that when we last spoke he was under the misimpression that Cotton’s cell was fully padded. He assumed this from information provided to him by the Sheriff’s Office, and from the video he’d seen. He admitted, though, that he had not visited HCCF cell #N144.
At the press conference last Thursday, Gallegos described his recollection of the Cotton video but he could not say for sure whether Cotton had hit his head on any non-padded portion of the approximately seven foot square jail cell. There is certainly one way to dispel any doubt about the matter and that is to release the tape — at least to Cotton’s family, if not to the public, for closer inspection.
Until that’s done, it seems hard not to agree with Cotton’s aunt, Lynda Rumburg, who was quoted in the Times-Standard last week: “Why wouldn’t they want to release the tape?” she asked. “To me, that tells me they have something to hide.”
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on the cover
Railroad!
Proposed lines ‘set rich blood a-tingling’ in early 1900s
Some Other Proposed North Coast Railroads
Choo-choo Fantasies
Exposing this east-west rail nonsense
seven-o-heaven
Undeterred Will
Will chides Andrew for lack of attention to detail and makes plans for his inevitable victory.
Recent short stories
June 11, 2009
Eye of the Beholder
June 11, 2009
Double Down
May 21, 2009
Pearls and Swine
Hank Sims
Today
44th Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race
STAFF PICK / events, art, outdoors, sports, for kids, free / 9 a.m.-6 p.m. A 3-day, 42-mile kinetic sculpture race over land, sand, mud and water! LeMans start at the Noon Whistle on the Arcata Plaza. Follow the race through Manila, Eureka and into Ferndale on Memorial Day for the Glorious Finish. kineticgrandchampionship.com. 889-3024.
Flow 2012 Fashion Show
STAFF PICK / events / 8 p.m. Arcata Theatre Lounge, 1036 G St. Student designed and produced clothing. Fundraiser for Arcata Arts Institute. $35/$25 students. artsinstitute.net. 822-1220.
Woodside Preschool's Rummage/Bake Sale
events / 8 a.m.-noon. Woodside Preschool, 900 Hodgson St, Eureka. www.woodsidepreschool.com. 445-9132.
Lanphere Dunes Restoration
STAFF PICK / outdoors / 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at Pacific Union School. Help remove non-native invasives at the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Tools and gloves provided, wear work clothes and bring water. Carpool to the protected site. 444-1397.
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