The 26-year-old Garberville man wounded in a Dec. 6 officer-involved shooting pointed his handgun at an officer before police opened fire, Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills said at a press conference today. Mills spent about 35 minutes walking media through the traffic stop, foot pursuit and ensuing shooting that transpired over 12 tense minutes shortly […]
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EPD Chief: Officers Fired More Than 40 Shots in Tuesday’s Pursuit
Amid the chaotic foot pursuit in downtown Eureka Tuesday evening that ended with 26-year-old Clayton Lee Lasinski shot once in the chest, officers fired more than 40 shots, Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills confirmed to the Journal. Lasinski remains hospitalized, but is expected to survive. No officers were injured in the incident, and Mills also […]
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Man Shot by EPD Expected to Survive
Clayton Lee Lasinski, the 26-year-old suspect shot by Eureka police officers Tuesday evening, remains hospitalized but is expected to survive, Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills said at a press conference this afternoon. Lasinski was shot once through the chest, Mills said. And Mills said that while it’s clear Lasinski brandished a handgun at officers at […]
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UPDATE: Officer Involved Shooting in Eureka
2nd UPDATE: EPD Chief Andrew Mills gave a statement to the press at around 7:40 p.m., saying that the incident originated with a call from the California Highway Patrol at around 4:43 p.m. asking EPD to assist with a suspect with a gun having “footbailed” from a car. EPD officers were in the middle of […]
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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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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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‘It Needed to be Done,’ EPD Officer Testifies in Wrongful Death Trial
The Eureka police officer who fatally shot Thomas “Tommy” McClain testified Tuesday that he stood by his actions and believed he had no choice but to shoot when the 22-year-old reached for what he believed was a gun in his waistband. “I was scared that the gun was going to come out and he was […]
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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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DA Clears Arcata Officer in Shooting
The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office has determined that an Arcata police officer acted in self-defense when he opened fire and wounded 26-year-old Joshua Hoffman at a gas station in May. After reviewing witness statements and multiple videos capturing the shooting, District Attorney Maggie Fleming determined that Hoffman was charging officer Don Arminio with a […]
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Update: No Injuries in Hoopa Officer-Involved Shooting
UPDATE: No one was injured during an officer-involved shooting in Hoopa after a sheriff’s deputy shot at a suspect who reportedly fired at law enforcement several times from his residence during an early morning stand off yesterday. Eric Michael Matilton, 31, is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon, willful discharge of a firearm in […]
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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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DA: CHP Officer Acted in Self-Defense
A District Attorney’s Office review found a California Highway Patrol officer acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a man after a routine traffic stop turned into an exchange of gunfire on a Eureka street last November. In a news release today, District Attorney Maggie Fleming said she has spoken with the family of Killian […]