The county of Humboldt has settled the federal civil rights lawsuit stemming from the 2014 jail death of Daren Borges, agreeing to pay Borges’ family $3.5 million in damages and legal fees, and to make various changes to jail policy. Borges, 42, a homeless, schizophrenic poet and artist, was living in Eureka at the time […]
Dale Galipo
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County Settles Wrongful Death Lawsuit for $3.5 Million
The county of Humboldt has settled the federal civil rights lawsuit stemming from the 2014 jail death of Daren Borges, agreeing to pay Borges’ family $3.5 million in damages and legal fees, and to make various changes to jail policy. Borges, 42, a homeless, schizophrenic poet and artist, was living in Eureka at the time […]
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Fortuna Settles Wrongful Death Suit for $900K
The city of Fortuna has agreed to pay $900,000 to settle a federal wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a man shot dead by police in 2012 after an appellate ruling brought the credibility of the officers involved into serious question. Jacob Newmaker, 26, was shot and killed by then Fortuna Police officer […]
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TL;DR: What You Need to Know About the $2.5 Million Verdict Against the County
Busy week? We’ll help you catch up on the basics of this week’s cover story, which touches on Humboldt County’s jail, homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness. Read the full story here before you dive into a Facebook comments debate. This week the Journal took a deep dive into the recent $2.5 federal court verdict against […]
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Federal Jury Hits County with $2.5 Million Wrongful Death Verdict
A federal jury in McKinleyville this afternoon awarded $2.5 million in damages to the family of a man who died at the Humboldt County jail in 2014, finding three correctional officers acted negligently when they failed to properly screen him before putting him in a sobering cell. The jury also found that the county failed […]
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McClain Family Settles Wrongful Death Suit
SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – The family of a man shot dead by a Northern California police officer settled a wrongful death suit Thursday after a jury found the officer and victim equally negligent in the fatal shooting last month. Eureka police officer Stephen Linfoot shot and killed Thomas “Tommy” McClain, 22, during a late-night confrontation […]
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UPDATED: Jury: Officer, McClain Both Negligent in Police Shooting
The last night of Thomas “Tommy” McClain’s life began with a night out on the town to celebrate his cousin’s birthday. It ended with the 22-year-old lying mortally wounded in his front yard after being shot three times by a Eureka police officer. While members of a federal civil jury found Officer Stephen Linfoot did […]
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Expert Opinions Collide in EPD Shooting Trial
Attorneys rested their cases today in a federal wrongful death trial after presenting testimony from law enforcement experts who gave conflicting views on whether a Eureka police officer’s fatal shooting of Thomas “Tommy” McClain was justified. A trio of police officers had McClain at gunpoint outside of his Allard Avenue home in the early morning […]
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McClain Witness: ‘There Was No Reason to Shoot’
Thomas “Tommy” McClain was walking toward Eureka police officers with his hands raised above waist level while navigating a barrage of conflicting commands when he was fatally shot, according to witness testimony today. Nichole Mottern, the wife of McClain’s cousin, who was standing in front of the Allard Avenue home the three shared that night, […]
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EPD Wrongful Death Trial Begins
Eureka Police Officer Stephen Linfoot testified today that he was one of three officers shouting commands with guns drawn in the seconds before he opened fire on Thomas McClain, continuing to shoot as the 22-year-old began falling over and after he hit the ground. “He was reaching for the gun and that’s when I shot, […]
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Alcohol, Hearing Evidence May be Excluded in McClain Trial
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge said Tuesday he is unlikely to permit evidence that a man shot and killed by an officer in Eureka two years ago was drunk and had hearing problems when the case goes to trial this November. According to his parents’ May 2015 lawsuit, 22-year-old Thomas McClain was complying with […]
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EPD Shooting Case Heads to Trial
SAN FRANCISCO — Parents who say a Eureka policeman shot their son to death though his hands were in the air can take their case to trial, a federal judge said Wednesday. Twenty-two-year-old Thomas McClain was shot to death by Eureka police officer Steven Linfoot on Sept. 17, 2014, his parents say in the lawsuit […]