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 […]
Steven Linfoot
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Mills: Suspect Pointed Gun at Officer Before Being Shot
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 Identifies Officers Involved in Downtown Shooting
The Eureka Police Department has identified the four officers who combined to fire more than 40 bullets during a Dec. 6 pursuit through Eureka that left a 26-year-old suspect with a non-fatal gunshot wound to the chest. The suspect, Clayton Lee Lasinski, was armed with a .45 caliber handgun during the pursuit, but appears not […]
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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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‘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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Judge Allows Hearing, Intoxication Evidence in EPD Shooting Trial
Reversing course from his tentative ruling in the case, a federal judge has decided he will allow jurors to hear evidence that 22-year-old Thomas McClain had a hearing impairment and had been drinking when he was shot dead by a Eureka police officer in 2014. A trio of Eureka police officers had McClain at gunpoint […]
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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 […]