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 […]
wrongful death
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County Swaps Attorneys, Challenges $2.5 Million Wrongful Death Verdict
The County of Humboldt is asking for a new trial in the civil case that in August resulted in a jury verdict finding the county and its correctional officers liable in the 2014 jail death of Daren Borges and awarding $2.5 million in damages to his family. In addition to filing motions last week asking […]
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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 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 […]