In our collective years covering crime in Humboldt County, a hard truth we’ve come to realize is that justice is rare — even rarer in a courtroom. The criminal justice system is a misnomer, as the very best it can deliver is protecting the community from a perpetrator while giving them a very limited chance […]
police
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Payouts in the Park
As the Journal went to press Feb. 25, the city of Rohnert Park was set to approve nearly $1.5 million in payments to settle multiple lawsuits alleging its police force conspired to steal cannabis and cash during illegal traffic stops. The settlements include $287,500 to be paid to Huedell Freeman, a cannabis farmer based in […]
Posted inNews
Recruitment and Retention
Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal says he became more concerned about his office’s already pressed recruitment and retention efforts when he heard that Mendocino County supervisors were giving their deputies a significant raise. Not that he begrudged the nearly 30-percent increase Mendocino’s deputies will be receiving over three years under a new contract approved in […]
Posted inNews
‘Tarnished’
It was about 1 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 22, 2014, and then Eureka Police Sgt. Brian Stephens was in the briefing room at the department’s headquarters on C Street when one of his officers approached, saying he needed to notify him — his supervisor — of an off-duty incident the week before. What followed was […]
Posted inNews
‘Jolting and Surprising’
Humboldt State University Chief of Police Donn Peterson was with Vice President of Administration and Finance Douglas Dawes on Sept. 30 when he first learned of his officer’s no-confidence vote in his leadership through a press release from their union. Speaking to the Journal, Peterson said he was so shocked at the news that he […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
In Praise of Sunshine
They say sunshine is the best disinfectant and North Coast readers need only look at Senate Bill 1421 for evidence. The landmark police transparency law, which the California Legislature passed last year and took effect in January, reverses decades of institutionalized obfuscation by mandating that law enforcement agencies throughout the state release certain types of […]
Posted inNews
Rio Dell Police: Stop Sharing Photos of Alleged Shooting Suspect Online
The Rio Dell Police Department is asking the public to refrain from playing home detective and speculating about who the suspect is in a fatal Aug. 29 shooting and sharing his photograph on social media. “The Rio Dell Police Department has become aware of social media posts that include a picture of a man fitting […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
A Reckoning in Rohnert Park
It seems something was very rotten in the city of Rohnert Park. Lawyers representing the city agreed Aug. 20 to pay a Texas man $415,000 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that Rohnert Park police unlawfully seized 3 pounds of legal marijuana during a 2017 traffic stop outside city limits. The settlement came just a […]
Posted inNews
Light into Dark Places
Eureka Police Officer Jacob Jones had been on the force about a year and a half when, shortly before 6 p.m. on May 25, 2018, he was dispatched to a report of a potential weapons violation. About 40 minutes earlier, a 46-year-old man had opened the back door of his Eureka residence to call in […]
Posted inNews
Friendly City Police Contract Negotiations Get Feisty
The city of Fortuna is in the process of finalizing a new contract with its police union that appears to be leaving no one happy. At the Fortuna City Council’s Aug. 5 meeting, City Manager Merrit Perry explained that the city simply wasn’t able to meet the Fortuna Police Employees Association’s salary requests amid rising […]
Posted inNews
Outstanding: A Report Expected to Shed Light on David Josiah Lawson’s Killing Remains MIA
In the aftermath of the April 15, 2017 stabbing death of David Josiah Lawson, as criticism swirled about the city of Arcata’s emergency and police responses and protests mounted, officials pledged the incident would be reviewed by an outside organization. Nearly two and a half years later, the city has yet to see the $30,000 […]
Posted inNews
California Lawmakers Negotiating Law Aimed at Reducing Police Shootings
Jamilia Land walked out of a meeting in the state Capitol feeling optimistic that 2019 may be the year California changes the law to try to reduce the number of people killed by police. It’s personal for her. Land is a family friend of Stephon Clark, the unarmed man Sacramento police shot dead last year […]