Betty Jean Morris passed away peacefully in her bed on Monday, February 28, 2022. She was 92.

She was born to Archie and Lottie Winters in Healdsburg in 1929, the youngest of their 12 children. Both of her parents passed away while she was still in grade school, so different ones of her sisters took her in until she finished school. She ended up in Lakeport where she met and fell in love with John S. Morris. They were married in 1947. They lived in Lakeport for a few years, then moved to Ukiah, and finally to Eureka in 1965.

She and John were long-time members of First Covenant Church, Eureka. Betty was active in the Women’s ministry. She loved to sew and enjoyed helping some of the young girls of the church to learn as well. She was an avid gardener, and when she had to be inside, she could often be found knitting.

When John retired in 1981, they went to Peru, where their daughter and son-in-law worked, and spent six months as guest helpers with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

She is survived by her daughter Judy (& David) Payne of Tyler, Texas, and her son Bill (& Allison) Morris of Eureka; five grandchildren: John (& Laura) Morris, Rebecca Morris, Nathan (& Katy) Payne, Jacob (& Tatiana) Payne and Adam (& Katie) Payne; plus nine delightful great-grandchildren.

Because of her love for children, in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Triumphant Life Camp, through First Covenant Church of Eureka.

Memorial service to be held at First Covenant Church of Eureka on March 18 at 10 a.m.

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Last week’s “final notice” letter from the California Attorney General’s Office, which threatens legal action against embattled Humboldt County Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez for her failure to submit a long-overdue financial transactions report, was not sent in error, as she suggested publicly this week.

The A.G.’s Office confirmed as much Thursday in an email to Paz Dominguez, saying a pending report from the State Controller’s Office “does not relieve the County of any reporting responsibilities including filing a timely Financial Transactions Report (FTR) and completing the annual single audit by the required due dates.”

The State Controller’s Office offered a similar clarification on Wednesday, confirming to the Outpost that the A.G.’s “final notice” letter was not issued because of some automated system but was indeed sent at the request of the state controller.

This is all rather convoluted, so let’s back up a bit.

In early December, State Controller Betty Yee notified the county that she’d be sending in a team from her office’s Division of Audits to investigate the county’s financial practices and reporting. (You can read her letter here.)

“The basis for the investigation is the county’s failure to file its Financial Transactions Report (FTR) for fiscal year (FY) 2019-20,” Yee’s letter said. That report, which is a state-mandated responsibility of the Auditor-Controller’s Office, is now more than a year past due. 

So Yee’s investigation team came in and investigated, conducting interviews, assessing the county’s internal controls and examining its overall financial reporting processes. However, the team has yet to issue its report. 

Cut to this past Friday. That’s when Paz Dominguez received the “final notice” from Deputy Attorney General Julianne Mossler. It reminds Paz Dominguez that the state has made several attempts over the past year to compel her to submit the report, saying she could even use unaudited information if necessary, just as long as she finally turns it in.  

Mossler’s letter tells Paz Dominguez that she has until March 16 to submit the Financial Transactions Report or else the state will pursue legal action against her (and/or against the county), including a $5,000 fine.

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Paz Dominguez suggested that Mossler’s letter was sent by mistake — or perhaps as the result of some automated notification system.

Addressing the board, Paz Dominguez said she appreciated the opportunity to “clear up some misconceptions” given that she had recently spoken with representatives from the State Controller’s Office about the letter. 

“It came as a surprise to the State Controller’s Office team that is working with our county that the Attorney General sent that letter,” Paz Dominguez said. “They were going to communicate with people at the Attorney General’s Office, and what they could communicate with me yesterday was that they think that maybe it’s probably because we were on a list and the Attorney General has a schedule that they check, and a calendar, and that because we were still on that list by that date, they chose to write that letter.”

The county has engaged outside auditing firm CliftonLarsonAllen to complete the long-overdue 2019-20 Financial Transactions Report. Representatives from that firm have given a target completion date of March 31 — two weeks beyond the new deadline imposed by the state.

But Paz Dominguez says she’s been under the impression that she should wait for the State Controller’s Office to issue its investigation report before completing the overdue document. The State Controller’s Office may want to send in its own accountant to complete the necessary work.

She reiterated this perspective on Tuesday, telling the board, “when the State Controller’s Office [representative] wrote her letter to the county … she said it would be upon her findings that she would determine whether she would appoint an accountant to come and complete the Financial Transactions Report.”

Back in December, Paz Dominguez said she was “thrilled” by that possibility — she would welcome any and all help from the State Controller’s Office. 

However, in reading Yee’s letter, it’s not clear whether she’s offering help or simply stating that she may have to resort to sending in a competent professional to fix the county’s financial mess.

“The results of this investigation will assist my office in determining if I need to appoint a qualified accountant to obtain financial information required to be reported to my office in accordance with [Government Code] section 53891,” the letter states.

On Tuesday, Paz Dominguez told the Board of Supervisors that the State Controller’s Office is still drafting its report, “so it does seem a little bit out of the timeline for the Attorney General to be demanding this [Financial Transactions Report]. Either way,” she continued, “I am still waiting for a response from the deputy attorney general who emailed that letter, and I have not yet received one.”

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn asked for clarification: Was she saying that the Attorney General’s letter was sent in error?

“Given what I have heard from the State Controller’s Office directly? Yes,” she said. “That is what I think has happened.”

Here’s video of Tuesday’s meeting, queued up to that exchange:

Mossler’s follow-up email, sent today, makes it clear that the notice was not sent in error. She confirms that the State Controller’s Office’s review of the county’s financial reporting practices is still in progress, saying the final results will be shared in an exit conference “when appropriate.”

But that has no bearing on the state’s imposed deadline. 

“The internal control system review does not relieve the County of any reporting responsibilities,” Mossler says, “including filing a timely Financial Transactions Report (FTR) and completing the annual single audit by the required due dates.”

Not only is the county’s 2019-20 Financial Transactions Report overdue, but the report covering the next fiscal year, 2020-21, was due by Jan. 31. Mossler tells Paz Dominguez that instructions for submitting those reports “remain the same as has been included in previous letters from [the State Controller’s Office],” but, perhaps in an attempt to be helpful, she attached a 43-page user guide for local government reporting along with a list of answers to frequently asked questions.

We reached out to Paz Dominguez to ask whether, in light of Mossler’s latest correspondence, she believes the 2019/20 Financial Transactions Report will get submitted to the state by the March 16 deadline.

Initially she said her schedule for today was jam-packed, so she wouldn’t be able to dig deep into the letter until this evening. But shortly thereafter she sent a follow-up email, saying:

I had a quick break between meetings so I provided a response to Ms. Mossler [saying] that I would review her request with county counsel as it didn’t align with what we discussed with the SCO [State Controller’s Office]. I’ll likely meet with my county counsel liaison early tomorrow and will know more then. Oh, how I wish I could clone myself and be in two places at once…

Still no word on whether she’ll be able to submit the overdue report before the March 16 deadline.

The Eureka City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday to remove the two city-owned parking lots on Third Street between G and H streets, behind Lost Coast Brewery, from the city’s Parking Assessment District (PAD) to make way for the recently approved EaRTH Center. 

As detailed in the agenda summary, the PAD was created in 1954 and encompassed most of the city’s central business district. “During that time, the city council approved issuance of bonds for the acquisition and construction of off-street parking facilities, and in 1955, a bond was formally issued and the City began to acquire and develop parking lots.”

The PAD is no longer collecting assessments. However, any lot funded by the PAD must go through a public hearing process to allow for the lot to be reduced or removed by a developer.

Although Tuesday’s discussion was a procedural follow-up to the council’s recent approval of the ambitious housing and transit project, several local business owners rallied against the development of the lot over concerns about downtown parking capacity. 

“In peak season, it’s really hard for a lot of people to park and we really got to take advantage of that,” said Sebastian Elrite, owner of Humboldt Bay Provisions in Old Town Eureka. “The thing to think about, in my perspective, would be if occupancy rates for the businesses and staff are high and everybody’s there at the same time, you definitely need a lot more parking than what’s currently available because we all want to have our seats full and our businesses and people able to come and go as they’re able.”

Megan Kramer, a local real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Cutten Realty, expressed her support for the project and acknowledged that the “housing situation in Humboldt County has become dire,” but requested the council consider an alternative project site.

“As proposed, this project would significantly increase traffic congestion and create unacceptable challenges for parking,” she said. “In the case of parking, we should accept expect conflict to arise with private property owners as tenants of the proposed project and existing users of the public parking lot that will be removed and will trespass onto private property to find a place to park. We should assume private owners will act and to protect their rights.”

Kramer ultimately requested that the council “select an alternative location and to move forward with this project.”

Eureka resident Kelly Martin echoed previous concerns about parking but also said he was worried about a potential increase in crime and “the homeless impact on local businesses.”

Project proponents, including Eureka resident and executive director of the Environmental Protection and Information Center, Tom Wheeler, said the EaRth Center “would be a very good thing for Eureka.”

“It’s going to provide low-income housing for people in our community; it will provide housing for traveling medical professionals, and will provide student housing,” he said. “I think [it] is really going to be wonderful for Old Town [and] it’s going to give us a shot in the arm of youthful energy. …This transit center is going to benefit the whole of the city, but in particular, it’s going to benefit our Old Town-downtown core.”

Wheeler added that public land “should be put to the best public use” and urged the council to continue its support for the project.

Colin Fiske, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, said, “It’s past time that we devote some resources, some funding to develop a transit center downtown.”

“We have plenty of parking and we need to give transit a try,” he said. “… Last time we were here it was a very full discussion. There were a lot of members of the public here. You had a good discussion and you made the decision to support the EaRTH Center. This is really bureaucratic sort of hoops that you have to jump through tonight and I hope that you will just continue on as planned.”

Following public comment, Councilmember Leslie Castellano acknowledged the need for more long-term parking throughout Old Town and downtown. “We are looking at some new solutions so that folks who are working those six- or eight-hour shifts can park … so they don’t have to worry about getting a big ticket or something like that.”

Councilmember Scott Bauer asked City Manager Miles Slattery to address concerns surrounding the price of the project, which is estimated to cost roughly $680,000 per unit.

“That is incorporating all of it but it is expensive,” Slattery said. “The cost of construction, as anybody will tell you, is very expensive right now. … When you take into consideration the transit center and the commercial space down below, it’s close to $500,000 a unit. That’s the going rate but it’s expensive right now.”

Councilmember Natalie Arroyo criticized the notion that additional low-income housing would contribute to more crime in Old Town and downtown, noting that she had only recently risen above the low-income bracket.

“I continue to take issue with this way that people are characterizing low-income folks in the community because I recently very recently became not low income,” she said. “… I’ve said this before, but low-income people statistically spend more of their money locally, so there’s also that benefit. I really get frustrated to hear any disparaging of the poor working folks in our community and students in our community who are still here being a part of the community, and any disparaging of transit riders. Frankly, that’s something I can’t quite stomach.”

Councilmembers Katie Moulton and Kim Bergel agreed. Bergel subsequently made a motion to adopt the resolution to remove the two city lots from the PAD. The vote passed in a unanimous 5-0 vote.

The full discussion can be found here.

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Press release from the Hoopa Valley Tribe:

As part of his landmark Clean California initiative, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the award of $5 million to the Hoopa Valley Tribe. The program is designed to foster cultural connections and civic pride, the project initiative led by The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The Clean California Local Grant Program is part of a two-year program through which approximately $296 million in funds will go to local communities to beautify and improve local streets and roads, tribal lands, parks, pathways, and transit centers to clean and enhance public spaces. Through the combination of adding beautification measures and art in public spaces along with the removal of litter and debris, this effort will enhance communities and improve spaces for walking and recreation. Additionally, with an eye on equity, half of the overall program funds benefit underserved communities. The maximum project amount is $5 million.

Developed in close collaboration with tribal and local governments, non-profits, and businesses, the state beautification projects will be completed in California’s counties including art installations, green space, and proposals that improve safety and promote community connections. 

“This is much-needed and such welcome news,” said Hoopa Vice-Chairman Everett Colegrove. “The Hoopa community is grateful to be funded by the Governor’s initiative. Nearly all of the chosen sites are in historically underserved communities.”

The project consists of four separate areas owned by the Tribe: Pookey’s Park, Hoopa Rodeo Grounds, Tish Tang Campground, and Neighborhood Facilities.  The community will receive a makeover, including debris removal, beautification, rehabilitation, and enhancement of community parks and spaces.  The project will also improve accessibility and added upgrades, as well as memorialized elements added to the sites. 

“The Hoopa Valley Tribe is very excited about this opportunity,” said Hoopa Tribal Chairman Joe Davis. “All four (4) of these spaces serve as public areas regularly used by community members of all ages and the proposed work at these existing facilities will continue to enrich the lives of all users by promoting health and wellness, walkability, accessibility, safe communities, and community pride while preserving natural resources and increasing wildland urban interface (WUI) protection. With this project, the Tribe seeks to provide conscientious continuity of ADA accessibility, cultural themes, increasing opportunities for health and wellness and community engagement.”

Crews are set to begin work on the Hoopa community project this spring and complete it in June 2024

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With news spreading about plans to demolish Eureka restaurant Annie’s Cambodian Cuisine to make way for a drive-through chain, some community members have started a petition opposing the project that would displace the beloved local restaurant.

“The residents of Eureka and Humboldt County have been made aware of plans that were submitted by Humboldt QOZ Fund, LLC to the city on Monday, February 14 proposing the demolition of three buildings where U and T Streets intersect with Hwy 101, one of these buildings being long standing local business, Annie’s Cambodian, to make way for two chain restaurants – a Starbucks and one other unnamed chain business,” the petition states. “Please note that we unequivocally and whole-heartedly opposed this proposition to our city.”

The proposed project, a Development Project Referral for which was shared with the Outpost by City Manager Miles Slattery last week, would demolish the three buildings – a now-closed Subway, a now-closed Sizzler and Annie’s Cambodian – located at 1906 Fourth Street and 1905 Fifth Street. As the petition states, two new restaurants would then be built on the sites – a drive-through Starbucks and another as-yet-unnamed drive-through restaurant.

Lisa Savage, senior planner for the City of Eureka, told the Outpost that the project applicants will need a Conditional Use Permit to be able to develop the two drive-throughs, because of the properties’ zoning. To gain permit approval, the project proposal will go before the Eureka Planning Commission, most likely in April, Savage said.

The petition encourages members of the community to attend the meeting, whenever it happens, to voice their opposition to the project. In addition to showing support for Annie’s, the petition also cites concerns over potential traffic increases along Fourth and Fifth Streets (Highway 101) and the addition of more chain businesses in the city.

“As a community we demand that any room or improvements being made for new businesses give local entrepreneurs the opportunity to expand and thrive first, over out-of-the-area, mass produced corporate land grabs,” the petition says.

Annie’s co-owner Laura Chau-Yang was happy to hear that the petition is circulating and was not surprised that some community members were rallying to support the restaurant. “A lot of our customers were really upset about hearing the news,” Chau-Yang told the Outpost over the phone on Wednesday afternoon. 

Chau-Yang’s family has been serving the community for decades, opening Happy Donuts in 1993. Many locals may remember that Chau-Yang’s mother, Annie, used to serve food out of a booth at local festivals, such as Oyster Fest. After many community members suggested that Annie start a restaurant, she and her husband sold Happy Donuts and opened Annie’s Cambodian 11 years ago.

She and her parents had heard rumors that Annie’s was slated for demolition, Chau-Yang said, but were not sure that it was going to happen until the Outpost contacted them for the initial story late last week. Their landlord has not been very transparent about the plans, Chau-Yang said.

But the property owner Victor Chang disagreed with this statement, saying that when he bought the site a couple of months ago, he told the owners about his plans to demolish the buildings to make space for new developments. Chang said he asked the owners how much time they would need to reallocate, and they said six to eight months. Once he is certain that the project will move forward, that is how much time Chang says he plans to give Annie’s to vacate the building.

“It’s a pretty large market,” Chang told the Outpost in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “Last I checked, there are a lot of vacant buildings in the area. So I’m sure they will be able to find something.”

Chau-Yang says that her family has started searching for a new location, but have been having a difficult time finding something in their price range. Chau-Yang has been in touch with Slattery, who said he would find out if there were any city-owned spaces available for Annie’s to move into and get back to her. She has not yet heard back.

Of course, Chau-Yang said her family would prefer not to move because moving into a new space will take time and money. Although the building they are in is aging, Chau-Yang says it has worked for them. But Chau-Yang knows that she will not be able to control what happens and remains hopeful that things will work out in her family’s favor. In the meantime, they will remain open at their current location for as long as possible.

“We’re going to continue to be open and continue to do what we’ve been doing, keeping our customers happy by feeding them good food,” Chau-Yang said. “And we’ll keep doing that until we’re told we have to go.”

The Planning Commission meeting to review the conditional use permit for the project will tentatively be held on April 11. When the agenda is posted, you will be able to view it at this link.

PREVIOUSLY: 

• Officer-Involved Shooting in the Arcata Bottoms: Sheriff’s Office, Other First Responders Investigating
• Victim and Officer Identified in Last Week’s Officer-Involved Shooting in Arcata Bottoms
  
• (VIDEO) Bodycam Footage of Last Month’s Fatal Arcata Officer-Involved Shooting Released
  

It escalated quickly.

A California Highway Patrol officer drove slowly behind a man walking on the road. An Arcata Police officer rode in the passenger seat, a second CHP officer sat in the back.

“Scoot up about 10 more feet,” the Arcata officer told the driver. “I’m just going to start firing.”

Charles Chivrell, 35, was disabled and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, court documents show. And on this September 2021 morning, he was in distress, walking along the rural two-lane road in Humboldt County with a briefcase and a holstered gun — making both rational and incoherent statements as police trailed him.

The CHP officer behind the wheel had tried to convince him to drop his briefcase, to stop walking, to talk to him.

Chivrell, his back to the officers, continued on.

Then, without warning, the Arcata officer opened the CHP vehicle door and fired non-lethal pepper balls in Chivrell’s direction, while the CHP officer in the back seat got out and aimed his weapon.

Chivrell’s body jerked, turned around. He ran as the pepper balls struck him.

“He drew!” an officer yelled. A burst of fire from Chivrell’s direction. Next, a loud bang — a rifle.

Chivrell fell to the asphalt. His cause of death: a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Nearly a month later, Arcata Police released edited footage from officers on the scene, showing multiple angles from dashboard and body cameras. But the local department of 22 sworn officers couldn’t release what it didn’t have: body camera footage from the CHP officer whose shot killed Chivrell.

That officer is among thousands in the California Highway Patrol ranks who do not wear body cameras.

Body cameras a ‘no-brainer’

In California and across the nation, body-worn cameras have become a part of many officers’ standard uniforms. While body and dashboard cameras are not mandatory in the state, large and small agencies have begun seeing the cameras as tools of transparency — and a way to keep officers and the public safe.

The shooting in Humboldt County was recorded by at least three different Arcata cameras and one CHP dashboard camera, videos that recently were viewed by CalMatters.

The CHP, one of the state’s largest police forces with a $2.8 billion budget, only has body cameras for 3% of its budgeted 7,600 uniformed officers.

“At this point, body cameras are a no-brainer,” said Nicholas Camp, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan who uses body camera footage to study officers’ communication and their encounters. “It’s one of the few reforms that both the (American Civil Liberties Union) and police agencies have supported. So it is surprising that such a large agency hasn’t adopted them.”

California’s highway police make around two million stops a year, encounters that mostly happen within range of dashboard cameras. But, the agency’s tentacles extend beyond the state’s crowded highways.

Highway patrol officers bust thieves, enforce evictions, police drag races, manage Capitol protests, protect the governor and respond to deadly shootings.

“Due to the nature of the CHP’s enforcement contacts, in-car cameras provide the most benefit…”
— Fran Clader, CHP spokesperson

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s current budget proposal seeks to expand the CHP’s organized retail theft investigative unit, from $6 million in 2022-23 to $15 million by 2026. The unit targets the large smash-and-grab thefts, including a series that broke out in Northern and Southern California over the holidays.

CHP acknowledged it only has 237 body cameras agencywide, all in the Oakland and Stockton areas. A spokesperson said the department is focused on upgrading its dash cameras.

“Due to the nature of the CHP’s enforcement contacts, in-car cameras provide the most benefit…,” wrote spokesperson Fran Clader in an email to CalMatters.

She said the agency will continue evaluating whether to expand its body camera usage.

In the meantime, some local agencies say they’re happy to fill CHP’s technology gaps.

“We’re a small department, and for us to be able to help a statewide agency…we don’t do that very often,” Arcata police chief Brian Ahearn told CalMatters.

“(The local CHP office) could not have been more grateful for us to provide our video … to illustrate to the community the entirety of the event that led to the use of deadly force,” he said.

State ‘dropped the ball’ on body cams

In 2015, the California Highway Patrol was at the top of some legislators’ lists to receive funding for body cameras. As the nation grappled with protests against police brutality, Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer — then chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus — lobbied to “require all California Highway Patrol officers to wear video cameras,” he wrote in an editorial for the Sacramento Bee.

“In some ways, we dropped the ball. We’re not going to drop it anymore.”
— Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles

Jones-Sayer’s $10 million pitch to give all CHP officers body cameras eventually was whittled down to a $1 million pilot program in the agency’s Oakland and Stockton areas. A year into the pilot, officers recorded nearly 93,000 videos, but the program was never expanded.

“Let’s be clear, they never wanted to do any of it,” said Jones-Sawyer, a Democrat from Los Angeles. “If it wasn’t for me pushing for the pilot program, they never would have had the 200 (body cameras).

“In some ways, we dropped the ball,” he said. “We’re not going to drop it anymore.”

While CHP experimented with its limited pilot program, many local law enforcement agencies in California have gone all-in on body cameras.

For example, the Los Angeles Police Department, which has a smaller budget, has given body cameras to more than 7,000 uniformed field officers, or about 73% of its force.

Carrie Lane, chief executive for the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, says its members support body cameras.

“They recognize body-worn cameras can be a benefit to the public by providing greater transparency that helps engender trust,” Lane said in an email response to CalMatters. “The challenge of body-worn cameras is, and always has been, cost.”

Other states lead California on body cams

The same year former Gov. Jerry Brown signed off on the pilot program, South Carolina passed a law requiring fully funded police agencies to give their officers body cameras. Since then, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and New Mexico have all passed laws mandating body cameras for officers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Last year, New York introduced body cameras for all of its state troopers.

In California, it’s a different story.

CalMatters queried more than a dozen of California’s largest police and sheriff’s departments and found that nearly all had at least some body cameras. Among the varying policies:

• Police departments in Los Angeles, Arcata, Bakersfield, Fresno, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose and Stockton have given body cameras to all of their uniformed patrol officers. So have the Kern, Sacramento and San Diego county sheriffs’ departments. Some agencies have extended their body camera usage beyond just patrol officers.
• The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, the state’s largest law enforcement agency, has outfitted 37% of all sworn personnel with body-worn cameras, according to the agency spokesperson.
• The Long Beach and San Francisco police departments and the Orange County and San Francisco county sheriff’s offices have given some of their officers body cameras.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department was the only agency among those contacted that said it had no body or dashboard cameras. In contrast, the Sacramento Police Department provides both body and dashboard cameras for all of its officers and marked vehicles.

Dashboard cameras also have been shown to be crucial when evaluating police encounters. A recent study shows when people view dashcam footage, they are more likely to assign blame to officers than when they watch body camera footage of the same incident.

“In some ways, you get more visual information about what’s going on from the dash camera,” said assistant professor Camp. “One thing that body cameras get us, which I think is important, but overlooked, is the audio. You can’t get that from a camera that’s mounted on an officer’s car quite a distance away.”

As for the highway patrol, it’s betting on improved dashboard cameras. The agency is nixing the grainy, DVD-based cameras it has used statewide since 2010.

The department’s new dashboard system will be wireless, capable of incorporating body cameras if the agency goes that route, and installed in every marked vehicle. The price tag: $52 million, which then-Gov. Jerry Brown approved in the state’s 2018 budget.

“Once that is completed, the new system will be capable of incorporating body-worn cameras in the future,” wrote Clader, the highway patrol spokesperson.

A family mourns

For now, families like Chivrell’s must rely on grainy CHP dash cam footage and body camera shots from other agencies when looking for answers.

In January, Charles Chivrell’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the U.S. Northern District Court of California. The federal suit targets the City of Arcata, the Arcata Police Department and the California Highway Patrol, along with some named officers, for the shooting.

The lawsuit calls Chivrell “a mentally-ill man who was stalked by law enforcement officers…as he walked along public roadways.”

The complaint alleges that “(the officers) failed to utilize appropriate procedures for communicating and confronting persons suffering from mental illness, such as de-escalation techniques.”

Attorneys for the CHP and Arcata have filed motions to dismiss, which will be heard June 2.

“The more evidence you have that establishes what really happened, the better off everybody is.”
— Mark Merin, Sacramento civil rights attorney

The family’s attorney, Mark Merin of Sacramento, told CalMatters that the shooting caused Chivrell’s family to move away from the area.

“It’s very disorienting for them, destructive,” he said. “It’s a very bad situation.”

Merin said he believes that all officers should wear body cameras, and turn them on when they interact with the public.

“The more evidence you have that establishes what really happened, the better off everybody is,” said Merin. “There’s no justification for not wearing a body camera.”

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CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

An Arcata Bottom dairyman at heart, Johnnie A. Avila, aged 87 years, has gone to be with the Lord and beloved love of his life, his wife Mary.

Dad was born February 19, 1935 to parents Mary and John Avila Sr., originally from Terceira, Azores.

Dad went to school at Bay School in the Arcata Bottoms, Dows Prairie School, and also attended school in Ferndale at a Quonset hut where he graduated with only two other students from grammar school. Dad’s family then moved to the Arcata Bottoms, where his parents bought a dairy farm on the corner of Bay School Road and Moxon Lane.

Dad plowed the fields by himself at the age of 15. He also had the job of delivering the milk cans to Gil’s Creamline Dairy. One unfortunate trip by horse and wagon found him wrecked in a ditch. The horse team took off with him and the wagon before wrecking, and at that point he told his father that he would no longer deliver the milk unless he could trade the horse team for a John Deere LA tractor. His father had no choice but to oblige.

Dad attended and graduated from Arcata High school. His favorite hobbies included running track and taking animals to the local fairs all while helping his father on the dairy farm.

He also loved cars, hot rodding around in a fixed-up show car that he and a friend worked on.

After graduating high school he worked at Rhodes Texaco, Manifolds service station and Lorenzos garage.

Dad met and eventually married Mary Anttila in 1958.

He started working at Safeway in the meat department, but his father was ill and that brought him back to the family farm.

Dad worked for his father for five years but when grandpa took over running the dairy again, mom and dad decided to move to Metropolitan in 1964 and start dairying in the area.

1964 proved to be a tough year as the following December brought the “Christmas Flood.” Buzz Chapman, dad and his trusty cow dog Diablo braved flood waters to save dads dairy cows. The boat they chose had a hole in it, but they saved every cow and even the bull leading them to higher ground. Dad was proud that he did not loose any dairy animals that day.

We lost our home and everything we owned as the flood waters took it down river but our lives and cows were spared, thanks to the help of Buzz Chapman and family. We never forgot their moral support and help that day, and our family has been forever indebted to the family.

A farm in the Arcata Bottoms became available for lease and eventually purchase. Coincidentally it was across the fields from grandma and grandpa’s dairy.

The 14-room home became home to five Avila children and with help from the Red Cross was filled with everything needed after the loss of everything they owned in the flood. The farm is located on Foster Avenue across from what was called the Simpson Mill and was formerly owned by the Minor family, who were farm, property, and mill owners in the area, and who the Minor theater was named after. The home and dairy barn still stand and are owned by his son Lance.

Shawn Avila, the youngest son, was hired to build mom and dad a new house at the end of the property.

After dairying on and off retiring and getting back into the business for about 40 years, it was time for dad to start up new hobbies like golfing, bowling, senior softball and bicycling around Arcata Bottoms.

He played for the Humboldt Classics, The Moose Club in Eureka, and joined a bowling team which led dad and mom to lots of games and tournaments all over the county and beyond.

Another passion of dads was his sports teams — the San Francisco Giants and 49ers football team, which he watched in person, on TV or listening through his trusty headphones that he always had on so he would not miss a game or play!

Dad was proud of his Portuguese heritage. He loved attending and donating to the local celebrations and realized his dream of visiting his parents homeland with a trip to Terceira, Azores in 2019 with his three daughters and grandson Justin.

Being a dairyman, he was always up early to start the day with coffee and could start a conversation with anyone anywhere.

Dad was a very hard worker, something he instilled into each of his children and we were better for it.

Dad and mom traveled everywhere including a trip to Cambodia to visit lifelong friends. Other travels took them to Reno, Vegas, Hawaii and visits to friends, family, grandkids and great-grandchildren.

They never missed a birthday or celebration and spent many good times with family and grandkids always making them feel special and loved.

Dad took loving care of mom when she became ill, taking care of every need she had and doing all the household chores including cooking and cleaning for them both till her passing in 2018.

When mom passed, dad lost a part of himself with her as he loved her dearly and his heart was broken.

He spent time after mom died enjoying time with children and grandchildren, including great-grandchildren, but was always awaiting the time he could join his wife in heaven.

Dads favorite word was “enjoy.”

He reminded us daily to enjoy life with family and friends wether it be camping, traveling, or a simple picnic in a park like we used to do as a family every week.

Johnnie is preceded in death by his parents John & Mary Avila Sr. and sister Lena.

He is survived by his children: Coleen (Avila) Wogoman , Renee (Avila) Ewing, Lance Avila, Jonene (Avila) Rocha and Shawn Avila. Grandchildren: Cody & Justin Ewing, Brandon & Collin Wogoman, Lexi, Sydni and Cooper Avila , and Cameron Avila . Great-grandchildren: Lane & Cole Ewing and Aria Wogoman .

The family would like to thank Bristol Hospice of Redding and the staff and caregivers at A Brand New Day facility in Redding for caring for and loving our father in the last months of his life.

He loved the staff, and they loved him just as much and was known by one of the gals there as “My handsome man.”

Services will be held beginning with a rosary on March 10, 7 p.m. at Paul’s Chapel in Arcata .

A mass and celebration of life will be held at St.Mary’s Church Arcata on March 11 starting with refreshments at 11 a.m. and services at 12 p.m. He will be interred at St. Mary’s Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Red Cross of Humboldt County, the Eureka Moose Lodge, Humboldt Classics Senior Softball Association, or make a donation in dads memory to the Ferndale lighted Tractor parade with a perpetual award going to a lighted John Deere tractor entry each year in his honor.