Press release from the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury:
The
Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury has released the first report of
their 2023-2024 term, entitled: “Humboldt County
Sheriff’s Office: Is a Lack of Oversight Due to a Lack of
Foresight?” (PDF link here.)
Oversight is constructive, not punitive. Oversight strengthens the
professionalism of law enforcement. By creating a secondary public review of alleged
misconduct or the handling of critical incidents, the people of Humboldt County can gain a clearer view
of important events that affect all of us.
Civilian oversight of elected offices such as the Humboldt County
Sheriff’s Office promotes good management, fiscal responsibility, transparency, and
accountability without interfering with the Sheriff’s Office’s enforcement and investigative functions.
The turn of this century brought renewed attention to law
enforcement. Community groups have advocated for police accountability, and incidents captured on
video have widely circulated on social media, leading local governments to seek reforms in law
enforcement. The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing has recommended that local jurisdictions
establish civilian oversight for law enforcement. A civilian oversight board enhances transparency and
accountability and gives the community a voice.
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends that the Board of
Supervisors establish a civilian oversight board to review, report on, and make
recommendations in support of law enforcement, and an office of inspector general to provide an
independent professional assessment of critical incidents and advice regarding law enforcement policies
and practices.
If you want to serve your community in a unique way that could
improve local government this is your opportunity. Applications to serve on the Humboldt County
Civil Grand Jury can be found at this link. Additional
information provided by the Civil Grand Jurors Association of California can be found at
this link.
Press release from the Cal Poly Humboldt Chapter of the California Faculty Association:
CFA Humboldt Condemns the arrest of students and faculty in response to Solidarity with Palestine protest on Cal Poly Humboldt Campus
The Cal Poly Humboldt Chapter of the California Faculty Association (CFA), a labor union that represents teaching, counseling, library, and coaching faculty of the California State University System, condemn last night’s actions of Cal Poly Humboldt (CPH) Administration as yet another dangerous escalation of their response to a peaceful campus demonstration.
Just after 9:30pm, Monday, April 29th, a multi-agency force of law enforcement descended on campus. For over 5 hours law enforcement threatened the use of chemical agents and kinetic projectiles via loudspeaker to disperse the crowd gathered on the quad. At approximately 3:30am law enforcement began to arrest peaceful student and faculty protesters sitting in a circle. At least one member of the press was arrested.
CFA Humboldt strongly condemns the use of law enforcement to clear the quad. Over the course of the last week, student protesters have continued to ask for negotiations with CPH administration, in order to have a peaceful resolution to the protest. These are the actions of conscientious individuals working to end a genocide, not the actions of criminals as President Jackson and Sherriff Honsal repeatedly called the student-protestors.
University communications describe this morning’s law enforcement action as “necessary to restore order and to address the lawlessness and dangerous conditions that had developed,” though, the only danger was that imposed by the threat of police action. The statement further minimized the students’ brave actions to bring light to ongoing genocide by calling the sit-in a criminal activity and not free-expression or protest.
As these protests grow in number across the United States and across the world, underscoring the collective will and power of student organizing, one truth included in the statement is that administration feared this protest would encourage more students to think of the university as their own. Even now, there is a hard closure in place and residents on campus are directed to “NOT walk across campus.”
The environment of fear that the threat of police violence created has reverberated across campus and continues even now. All students were afraid to move freely about the campus, not because of protestors, but because of the threat of police action, including arrest. The alert to shelter in place that went out at 3:00 and 4:06am stressed that due to a level of increased criminal activity, it was dangerous to be on campus. But the protesters did the same thing they had been doing for a week: making signs, sharing music, praying, chanting in support of Palestine. The only difference this time was the impending police action – that is what made campus dangerous in the early hours of this morning.
CFA Humboldt demand the following:
Immediate release of all students and faculty arrested last night.
Immediately reinstate any students suspended due to participation in the protests
No academic sanctions for participants of the protest over the last week.
Barriers to Campus need to be immediately removed and campus needs to be reopened. All members of the university community need access to campus.
President Jackson must release a statement calling for a immediate ceasefire, taking note of College of the Redwoods President Keith Flamer’s statement to President Joe Biden
Accountability from administration whose negotiations with students led students to believe there would be meaningful action on their conscientious demands
The actions over the last week by CPH administration have eroded the trust of faculty, staff, students, and the larger Humboldt community. The campus community cannot begin to heal until our demands are met.
Cops and Protesters clash this morning | Photos/Video: Andrew Goff
Here’s what the Outpost saw in Tuesday morning’s wee hours.
Just after 2:30 a.m., a column of law enforcement vehicles, including vans and buses, arrived on Cal Poly Humboldt campus carrying over 100 officers in full riot gear. With drones providing surveillance overhead, the officers immediately converged on the UC quad, dismantling protester-constructed barriers along the way.
With officers closing in, a group of between 20 to 30 protesters plopped down in a circle in front of The Depot. With other protesters and members of the media looking on, they chanted pro-Palestinian slogans and shared messages of love with each other one by one officers informed them they were being arrested, stood them up, zip-tied their hands, and led them off the quad. A few protesters lightly resisted by refusing to stand. Some were forced onto their stomachs so their hands could be bound.
With the arrests of the core group of protesters ongoing, law-enforcement set about moving back the rest of the crowd. Wielding poles and batons, the officers loudly repeated the phrase “clear the area” as they advanced on the remaining onlookers, pushing them from the quad toward the library circle driveway. Along the way, they checked the numerous tents between Siemens and Nelson halls for occupants, aggressively clearing them when they confirmed they were vacant.
Those who are arrested were led south, past the Van Duzer Theater, and down several sets of steps to Laurel Drive, where an area had been established in front of Gist Hall to process them. Officers took down their personal information and the medical team checked their vital signs before they were loaded up into one of several vans and carted away.
Officers on scene were unable to provide a count of just how many people have been arrested, but a few dozen seems a safe bet. Among those taken was Adelmi Ruiz, a television news reporter with KRCR’s Eureka bureau. By 4:45 a.m., just over two hours after the raid had begun, officers processed the last of the protesters. Other officers continued to patrol the campus, perhaps searching for stragglers.
Just after 7 a.m., Cal Poly Humboldt sent out the following statement:
On
Tuesday, April 30 at about 0230, law enforcement began a series of
actions to restore order on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus.
Law enforcement cleared
and secured Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall East, as well as the area
near those buildings. About 35 25 individuals were arrested, without
incident. There were no injuries.
The operation was
carried out by Unified Command, which is made up of law enforcement
personnel from throughout the State of California under the
leadership of Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal and University
Police Department Chief Peter Cress.
At the time the
operation was initiated, on-campus residents were advised by
University text and emails to shelter in place. Others were directed
to stay away from campus, which was already under a hard closure.
The operation’s
objective was to establish control of the site; protect the rights,
safety, and health of students and employees; eliminate the threat of
violence and criminal behavior; and reestablish control of buildings
and other property.
Those arrested faced a
range of different charges depending on individual circumstances
including unlawful assembly, vandalism, conspiracy, assault of police
officers, and others. In addition, students could face discipline for
conduct violations while any University employees arrested could face
disciplinary action.
The University had made
repeated efforts over the last week to resolve the situation. This
morning’s enforcement action was determined to be necessary to
restore order and to address the lawlessness and dangerous conditions
that had developed.
What was occurring was
not free expression or a protest. It was criminal activity, and there
were serious concerns it would spread even further on campus.
The hard closure of the
campus remains in place through May 10, and law enforcement is
continuing to monitor the situation. For employees, your supervisor
will contact you if you are authorized to be on campus.
Humboldt County
Sheriff William Honsal
“The law
enforcement action at Cal Poly Humboldt was essential to
reestablishing order on campus. When someone commits a crime and
infringes on the rights of others, it becomes necessary for law
enforcement to step in. I’m grateful to the agencies and officers who
contributed to bringing safety back to our campus. I understand the
widespread frustration caused by the campus closure, threatening
behavior, and lawlessness we’ve witnessed over the past week. By
restoring order, we’ve sent a clear message that the criminal and
dangerous activities we experienced were not peaceful protests, but
outright criminal behavior, which is unacceptable.”
University
Police Department Chief Peter Cress
“The University
Police Department is deeply grateful to the local and statewide
agencies that lent support to our campus during this event. The
support was critical in restoring an environment on campus where
learning and work occur safely. UPD remains committed to a learning
environment where everyone can be heard without breaking the law.”
Tom Jackson Jr.,
Cal Poly Humboldt President
“This is a
difficult day, it breaks my heart to see it, and truly nobody wanted
to see things come to this. We’ve all watched this with great
concern, and always with the sincere hope that it would be resolved
peacefully. Unfortunately, serious criminal activity that crossed the
line well beyond the level of a protest had put the campus at ongoing
risk. I commend the law enforcement team for their effort in
resolving this very dangerous situation, and I’m incredibly
grateful for the many agencies who advised us and who came to our aid
in our time of need. I’m also very grateful for our many staff
members who performed far and above their normal duties to help us
protect the campus and maintain operations. Our focus for the entire
time has been on doing all we could do to protect the safety of all
involved, and we were very patient and very disciplined with that.”
Frances
Marie Richardson, born January 19, 1934, passed away on February 25,
2024, at age 90.
Frances
was from Santa Cruz, but after becoming a Sister of St.
Joseph and nurse upon her graduation from high school, she lived in
many cities in California where the Sisters of St. Joseph had
hospitals. She lived in the convent at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka
for several years while she worked as a nurse there. While she was a
nurse, she was frequently called on to provide nursing care to
patients who were having a hard time during their stay at the
hospital because she had an innate ability to know how to reach those
patients.
Frances
left the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph in her 50s, and moved to
Home Health as it began its start in Humboldt County. While she was a
Home Health nurse, Frances drove for many years to small towns across
Humboldt County to give nursing care to patients in their homes.
After
she retired, Frances stayed in Eureka at
Seaview Mobile Estates on Humboldt Hill. Her best friend was Ann Boyd
of Eureka, our mother and the reason Frances moved back to Humboldt
County. Frances loved working in her yard, and every year grew quite
a lot of vegetables and fruit. She loved that she had a view of the
ocean from her home. She was
a creative person. talented both as a painter and in making craft
items from wood.
Frances
was full of life and personality, and was always interested in, and
had strong opinions about, world events. Frances was at Granada
Convalescent for the last few years of her life. She remained a
devoted Catholic until the end, and has now reunited with her loved
ones. We miss her.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Frances Richardson’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Corky was a charismatic man who asked for little yet gave so much. People were naturally drawn to his carefree disposition and sunny smile.
Corky passed away on March 28, 2024 at the age of 69 after suffering an unexpected stroke at home. He was born on February 17, 1955 to Edward and Joyce Schoonmaker. Corky was born and raised in Eureka, where he graduated Eureka Senior High School in 1973, then graduated with an Associate Arts Degree from College of the Redwoods in June of 1977.
Joyce, lovingly known as the “Warden,” became a single mother when Corky was 4 years old. Even at an early age Corky had a mischievous side. Much to his mother’s dismay, it was common for neighbors to find a young, blonde, skinny Corky on their doorstep stating his mother had not fed him. He had of course been fed by his mother, but he insisted that each neighbor had a specific food item that was not to be missed.
In 1978 Corky met Jill at a Halloween party he and his friends attended. They began dating a few months later and were married in September 1981 at St Bernard’s Catholic Church in Eureka. Corky and Jill were blessed with three children, a daughter, Vanessa and two sons, Neal and Dean. Corky took pride in his family and was a loving father and devoted husband, always making time for his wife, children and granddaughter, Yvette. He never missed an art exhibit, theatrical or sporting event that his children participated in. He could often be found behind the scenes of these events assisting in one manner or another. Corky loved making people happy, teasing his wife and children, long camping trips with family, working in his yard, running heavy equipment, watching the 49ers and NASCAR (I don’t get the NASCAR thing), helping neighbors and meeting new people.
Corky worked for Humboldt County Public Works, Roads Division for many years, initially by running the brush cutter then working on the crusher crew and finally on the McKinleyville road crew. After 33 years of service, Corky retired in December 2015.
Corky was an avid runner throughout high school and college and became a member of Six Rivers Running Club participating in the Avenue of the Giants and the Clam Beach Run, among others. Corky was a member of Humboldt Redwood Cursillo during the 1990s and early years of 2000. Many, many friendships developed and flourished during these years and those relationships have carried his family through both highs and lows over the years. Prior to moving in 2017, Corky was a member of Christ the King Parish in McKinleyville as well as the Elks Lodge #652
Corky was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Joyce Schoonmaker, sister Lori Dinsmore, and brother-in-law Mark Bollmann and father-in-law Gordon Schuler. He is survived by his loving wife Jill, his daughter Vanessa (Cody Jones), sons Neal (Rebecca Curtis), and Dean Schoonmaker, sister Lila Bollmann (Randy Younger). Corky leaves behind many loving cousins, nephews and nieces that will never look at a game of hide and seek without remembering their fun-loving uncle.
Corky is best known for his quick-witted humor, and generous spirit. He loved his Hawaiian shirts but was a cowboy at heart. Corky did not want a funeral but rather a wake. With this request in mind, we look forward to celebrating Corky’s life at The Barn by Fernbridge, at 26 Goble Lane, Ferndale, on June 15, 2024 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. To honor Corky on this incredibly special occasion we encourage you to dress in your favorite Hawaiian style attire and don’t forget your cowboy hats and boots.
Corky’s remains will be interred in Humboldt County at a later date.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Corky Schoonmaker’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
UPDATE, 2:45 a.m.: As expected, cops have shown up on Cal Poly Humboldt’s campus in force and have made their way to the UC Quad where they have begun arresting protesters.
We will have more later this morning.
# # #
Video: Andrew Goff
UPDATE, 1 a.m.: Well, it has now been nearly four hours of patrol cars rolling up to various spots on the perimeter of the barricades every half hour or so to play the recorded warning, giving protesters 15 minutes to disperse. At this point, the announcements are mostly being ignored.
Some protesters remain outside, chanting periodically. Others are resting or sleeping inside Nelson Hall East. About an hour ago a man blasting country music, who admitted to being “two beers deep,” drove up to campus to start some shit debate. He argued with a few protesters and declared “death to Palestine” before leaving.
Theories and speculation abound regarding what’s next, but for now the standoff remains a waiting game.
—Ryan Burns
Photo: Andrew Goff.
UPDATE, 11 p.m.: Still a lot of feints and jabs from the cops’ side. The police car that has parked itself at various locations around the perimeter to play a recording is still doing that, per the Outpost reporters on scene.
One person who was on the fringes of the crowd has been taken into custody, as seen in the picture above.
###
UPDATE, 10:15 p.m.:No police crackdown yet. Right now there are about 150-200 protesters gathered on and around the UC quad, per Outpost reporters Ryan Burns and Andrew Goff, at the scene. A patrol car periodically pulls up to various points on the perimeter to play the announcement shown in videos below, urging people to disperse.
Just now, a police officer gave protesters 15 minutes.
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UPDATE, 10:08 a.m.: The Outpost’s Ryan Burns was live from the university quad.
###
UPDATE, 9:50 p.m.:Police are giving protesters 10 minutes to disperse.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On 4/22/2024, at about 3:40 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the Tish Tang Campground near Hoopa, CA for the report of a possible drowning.
According to witnesses, a juvenile female had been swept away by the river current while attempting to cool off and two additional persons had jumped into the river in an attempt to rescue her.
Upon deputy arrival, the female was observed on a rock on the opposite side of the river and a second person was quickly discovered downstream yelling for help and holding onto a tree. A passing civilian boat assisted in bringing both subjects to safety. Both were transported to a local hospital by ambulance.
The Sheriff’s Office’s jet boat and a Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Department boat were launched near the area in which the third person, Joseph Viveiros Dawson Rodney Joseph Dawson Viveiros Jr., age 19, was reported missing. California Highway Patrol and US Coast Guard helicopters were also dispatched to aid in the search. While the search was ongoing, a family member of Viveiros jumped into the river and was swept downstream. The Sheriff’s Office jet boat was able to rescue the man, who was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
HCSO along with multiple other agencies searched the area where Viveiros went missing. An underwater ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) with sonar capabilities was used to aid in the search. The search for Viveiros Dawson has been unsuccessful.
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank Humboldt County Special Services, Hoopa Tribal Police, Hoopa Volunteer Fire, Yurok Tribal Police, CHP Air Operations, United States Coast Guard, Hoopa Ambulance, Cal OES, Yuba County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit for their quick response and assistance in this operation.
