Eureka's Good Ol' Boy's Club

While checking the latest "goings-on" I noticed Eric Kirk's latest addition:

Sohum Parlance II 

District Attorney Race…. Again??? 

3 days ago

Here's what he says:

District Attorney Race…. Again???

May 1, 2013 in Uncategorized | Tags: District Attorney, Paul Gallegos

It seems like we just reelected Paul.  Was it three years ago already?

My good friend John is already posting news of a potential new candidate.

Rose is still talking about “how bad it is” – the sky perpetually falling.  She’s not quite predicting Paul’s demise at this point, but considering “how bad it is,”his only chance is if nobody wants the position because – it’s all so bad.  She’s been writing his political epitaph for years now, and maybe it’ll apply this time.  Or the next time.  Or the next.

Next is a Bullwinkle cartoon nonsense - must be an inside joke. (If interested see the link above.)

Rose, based upon what you can read in the newspaper, propaganda/bias notwithstanding, has it right. This cronyism legitimizes the corruption in this county. As long as Paul Gallegos is a Democrat District Attorney, he can do no wrong.  But then, like most Democrats these days, he says one thing and does the very opposite. Take this for an example:  Eureka police sergeant accused of excessive force, making false report arrested; Laird on administrative leave

Murl Harpham and Frank Jager can blow all the smoke they want, they can't fake the facts. Laird is found by a Federal Judge to have participated killing Martin Cotten while in their custody. ("overwhelming evidence presented at trial") Not any criminal trial brought by Paul Gallegos. This guy, Laird wasn't even fired. He was promoted and functioned as a Training Officer. So now you know what Murl Harpham meant when he told Eureka his department was staffed by "tough cops." 

This is only one example. The number of people killed by Humboldt County police is replete with unprosecuted excessive force incidents. What is it that Jager says? “He was a bit aggressive in his dealings, but he was a good officer other than that. It appears he went a little too far in this case.” In Jager's mind it's like this guy just crawled out from under a rock! This guy's brutality is a matter of record. I'd say those two guys in Boston "went a little too far" when they killed that cop and exploded those bombs too. Other then that little discretion, their good people.

In my book the people of Humboldt County deserve what they get when they elect and reelect such people. For those of you in need of a lawyer when being prosecuted by the Humboldt County DA, Paul Gallegos, be sure to give Eric Kirk some consideration. I'm sure he'd do you a mighty fine job of representation.

If you believe this is all okay, maybe you should read what Glenn Greewald says here.

In the meantime, I've included the newspaper article in its entirety here.

--Joe

Eureka police sergeant accused of excessive force, making false report arrested; Laird on administrative leave

Kaci Poor and Kimberly Wear/The Times-Standard

Posted:   04/18/2013 02:26:29 AM PDT

Updated:   04/18/2013 02:26:29 AM PDT

A Eureka Police Department sergeant was arrested Wednesday following allegations of excessive force by a fellow officer and accusations he filed a false police report.

Chief Murl Harpham, who announced the arrest of Sgt. Adam Laird at an afternoon press conference, declined to release any information on the exact nature of the incident, other than to say that it occurred one month or more ago.

Harpham said the EPD initiated an investigation after a fellow officer accused Laird of misconduct. EPD officials then notified the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office, which conducted a parallel investigation.

Laird -- who has served as the department's training officer -- is currently on administrative leave until the EPD's internal investigation is complete.

”We will not tolerate misconduct by any of our officers, and firmly believe and stand behind the Police Officer's Code of Ethics, that each of our officers are expected to conduct themselves under that code,” Harpham said.

Laird was one of three EPD officers found by a federal jury to have used excessive force against Martin Frederick Cotton II, 26, during a violent altercation that preceded his death on Aug. 9, 2007.

U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong described grisly witness testimony of the incident in her 41-page ruling that denied the city of Eureka's motion for a new wrongful death trial. Included in the ruling were descriptions of Laird's reported use ofbatons, kicks and knees during the altercation. The jury awarded Cotton's father and daughter more than $4.5 million in damages in 2011.

Laird and another officer were each found personally liable for $30,000 in damages.

”The overwhelming evidence presented at trial demonstrated that the three defendant officers repeatedly inflicted blows to (Cotton's) body ... with their fists, knees, legs and batons as he lay on the ground,” the judge wrote. “As such, plaintiffs' counsel had a substantial evidentiary basis upon which to argue to the jury that officers 'beat' the decedent.”

Shortly after the jury's verdict, Harpham told the Times-Standard that the officers were “wronged,” adding that they are “kind” men, and noted that Laird was promoted to sergeant in 2011.

Eureka Mayor Frank Jager -- who was county coroner at the time of Cotton's death and previously worked as an EPD officer -- and Councilman Mike Newman were both present at Wednesday's press conference. Jager later said EPD notified the city early on in the investigation.

”We have been following it closely since,” he said. “I think EPD has handled this situation well. They got right out on top of it and did a thorough investigation and then handed it over to the district attorney when the time was right.”

Jager said the incident is unfortunate.

”Here is a guy where law enforcement is his entire career,” he said. “He was a bit aggressive in his dealings, but he was a good officer other than that. It appears he went a little too far in this case.”

Jager said he hopes the arrest will not tarnish the police department that was left reeling in 2006 with five officer-involved shooting deaths in a span of 15 months.

”You know, you hear things from time to time about how bad EPD is, but it really is not,” he said. “They have a lot of great officers down there, and I think this really shows that when something like this happens they don't just let it slide. One of their own came forward to report this. I feel bad for the involved officer, but it is a good thing that they are able to recognize when something has gone wrong and deal with it.”

Laird is scheduled to be arraigned May 29. He was released from jail on $50,000 bail.

The allegations

PC 149, Assault under Color of Authority: Every public officer who, under color of authority, without lawful necessity, assaults or beats any person, is punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000, or by imprisonment in the state prison, or in county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

PC118.1, Peace officers, false report: Every peace officer who files any report with the agency which employs him or her regarding the commission of any crime or any investigation of any crime, if he or she knowingly and intentionally makes any statement regarding any material matter in the report which the officer knows to be false, whether or not the statement is certified or otherwise expressly reported as true, is guilty of filing a false report punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or in the state prison for one, two, or three years.