The gears of justice grind slowly: Said Joquin, Sean Fuhr & Jackie Salyers
The gears of justice grind slowly…
I’ve been waiting all summer to pitch NPR for coverage of Auburn officer Jeff Nelson’s second-degree murder sentencing for killing Jesse Sarey on May 31, 2019—but that’s not happening until at least November now. Nelson’s attorneys are arguing for a new judge and trial based on technicalities from jury deliberations and closing arguments1. Nelson has a meeting with the CJTC in a couple weeks about his certification, but I have a feeling that’ll get pushed until we have a decision on a new trial.
Many more police shootings and deaths in custody as far back as 2019 are stalled in courts across the Pacific Northwest. Here are a few updates from the court dockets I’ve been watching for the past few years (if there are more cases you care about of any sort, let me know).
Said Joquin – May 1, 2020
U.S. District Court Judge David G. Estudillo decided earlier this month that former Lakewood police officer Mike Wiley isn’t entitled to qualified immunity from federal civil rights claims. Wiley shot Joquin four times, contending Joquin “lunged for the handgun” under his driver seat.
An expert for Joquin’s family determined Joquin would have had a “significantly different pattern of injuries” if he’d lunged as Wiley described. The family also argues Joquin was responding to Wiley’s partner by pointing to where the gun was.
The judge also left the family’s other claims intact that allege the city and former police chief Mike Zaro failed to respond to Wiley’s history of mental health issues after uses of force that raised concerns. The city of Lakewood has appealed to the 9th Circuit2, which the family argues is frivolous. This comes two years after the case was plucked out of state court as a trial date was nearing.
Sean Fuhr – April 29, 2020
U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein today dismissed a lawsuit from the family of Shaun Fuhr,
who was shot by Seattle police while holding his 1-year-old after fleeing a domestic violence incident. Fuhr’s girlfriend said Fuhr was intoxicated, seriously injured her and fired a gun at her, then ran away with their child.
SWAT officer Noah Zech shot Fuhr in the head as he rounded a corner of a building and saw a “fleeting window of opportunity.” His family’s lawsuit contended Fuhr had stopped running, didn’t have his gun and was obeying commands when Zech fired. Police found the gun in the bushes a block away.
“The Court disagrees that a reasonable jury could find that in advancing towards the officers in those last
moments, Fuhr was attempting to surrender,” the judge ruled. And even if that were true, Rothstein ruled Zech is shielded by qualified immunity. The attorney for Fuhr’s family, James Bible, says they will appeal.
“This case should have gone to a jury,” Bible said in a phone call today.
Jackie Salyers – Jan. 28, 2016
The new Office of Independent Investigations is looking at whether to reopen a keystone Washington police accountability case in the fatal shooting of Jackie Salyers by Tacoma police. As police surrounded Salyers’ car to arrest her boyfriend in the passenger seat, Officer Scott Campbell shot Salyers when she started the car and put it in gear. Campbell said he thought Salyers was going to run him over.
Salyers was a mother of two and an autopsy found she was pregnant when she died. Her death helped galvanize support to repeal Washington’s all-but-impossibly high burden of proving an officer used deadly force with malice to charge them with a crime. Initiative 940 passed with overwhelming support from voters after campaigning by families of people killed in custody and Puyallup tribal leaders, among others.
The OII is also reviewing whether to reopen criminal investigations into the deaths of Stonechild Chiefstick, Cecil Lacy Jr., Andrea Churna and Jason Hale. Meanwhile, the death of Manny Ellis remains under review by the DOJ and the decertification proceedings for the ex-officers involved are pending.
Want to see more deep, independent reporting on those cases? Please consider becoming a paid subscriber. It’s literally my only source of income until my Doge coin money starts pouring in. My ultimate goal is to host a database of cases on my website.
Source Material
- Next summer, pro bono civil attorneys for pre-trial defendants in Pierce County Jail will make arguments to certify a class action over persistent sewage issues—particularly in the mental health unit where folks aren’t so inclined to speak up—which make the jail sound like a truly hellish place to survive in – Wolfclan v. Pierce County
- The Washington Supreme Court disbarred former state auditor and House representative Troy Kelley for multiple federal convictions of possession of stolen property, making false declarations in a court proceeding and tax fraud – In re Disciplinary Proc. Against Kelley
- A then-24-year-old defendant appealed his conviction for felony murder predicated on being an accomplice to a robbery over lack of evidence and racial bias. But instead of getting a break, the Court of Appeals decided the trial judge exceeded their authority by having a mandatory firearms enhancement run concurrently with his murder sentence due to his youth – Washington v. Roberts
The Weekly News Links
Send me links: jared@pnwjusticejournal.org
Policing
- Interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr on prostitution, drugs and disorder — The Stranger
- The “killology” guy is working with police in Oregon, and it’s happening with little oversight — Portland Mercury
- Noticing a lot more security guards at the grocery store and Ross? A lot of them are packing, with little oversight, too — Willamette Week
- Portland sends man to prison for two years over graffiti crackdown. I hear this is working well in Seattle, too? — OregonLive
- In Spokane, police are fighting more people — City of Spokane
- Seattle cop went 75 mph in a 25 with no lights in unauthorized pursuit — DivestSPD
- Lawsuit alleges King County deputy wrote false report because of driver's race — Seattle Times
- Long Beach, WA police told a kid to lead them to brass knuckles without letting him lawyer up, so the trial evidence got tossed — Chinook Observer
- Former SPD officer fired for comments that sparked international outrage speaks out — KIRO 7
Politicking
- The ongoing, politicized effort to enforce homeless camping bans in and around Portland — OPB
- Vague "pedestrian interference" tickets against homeless folks spiked during Spokane Expo celebrations, but police can enforce camping ban, too — Inlander
- Burien, WA plans closed-door police chief selection after fallout from camping ban enforcement — PubliCola
- Even though Idaho wants to train 250 new sexual assault nurses, they’ll be restricted on abortion care — Cascade PBS
- Seattle police are marketing themselves a lot apparently — PubliCola
- Drug possession is a misdemeanor again in Oregon in 2 weeks — OPB
- ‘Red flag’ gun laws under fire across the country– The Trace
Lawyering
- Pierce County, WA prosecutor says it will be ‘vigilante land’ if she can only prosecute murderers and armed robbers, but not auto thieves and residential burglars under lower caseload restrictions — The News Tribune
- Defense attorneys warn of looming crisis in Kootenai County, ID — Coeur d’Alene Press
- Attorneys in Idaho Panhandle counties waiting on new public defense contracts after funding shakeup — Lewiston Morning Tribune
- Oregon public defense leader retaliated against female attorneys — OregonLive, Willamette Week
- After suing sheriff’s office for shoddy investigation, family of slain Portland hiker sues alleged gunman and father accused of arming him — OregonLive
- Court allows recall against small-town WA Mayor over failing to ratify a budget and advertising her business on city website — Sunnyside Sun
- “Not necessarily a jury of your peers,” Franklin County prosecutor tells Black defendant — Tri-City Herald
- Clark County Juvenile Court sees good results from community service over punishment — The Columbian
Incarcerating
- Idaho prison inmates are protesting for better treatment and services. Jail guards are meeting them with force — Idaho Statesman
- WA confines people convicted of sex crimes to an island and releases them with little oversight — Seattle Times
- King County report proposes downtown redevelopment, new jail in Sodo — Seattle Times
- WA’s head of juvenile detention is serving vanilla when it comes to answers for crises on multiple fronts — Seattle Times
- WA is spending millions to reduce solitary confinement. The numbers aren’t great — Washington State Standard
- Philly will crack down on repeat gun offenders before they fire their weapons – The Trace
Safety & Well-Being
- Washington’s foster care system is shrinking — Washington State Standard, The Seattle Times
- Challenges ahead as Spokane pivots from warehouse for the homeless — The Spokesman-Review
- Kent, WA asylum-seeker camp grows as calls for help go unanswered — Seattle Times
- Study: for every 17 times a “red flag” order removed a gun, one suicide was prevented — The Trace
- Opening of ‘deflection’ center delayed in Portland for at least a month, without sobering beds — OregonLive, OregonLive, Willamette Week, Willamette Week
- Multnomah County, OR ambulances still running late, new data shows — Willamette Week
- Polling shows support for comprehensive community safety over hiring additional police; addressing mental health crises while reducing arrests— Safer Cities
Data & Tech
- WA Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert pushed DNA technology that could enable mass surveillance — Salon
- Where shotspotter gunshot-detection technology will go in Tacoma — The News Tribune
- WA State Patrol admits losing an unknown amount of public records — Cascade PBS
- Murder is likely falling at the fastest pace ever recorded in 2024 - Jeffalytics
- Homicides in Seattle still far higher than before the pandemic, report says — Seattle Times
- Portland close to 2023 homicide pace after latest shooting — OregonLive
National Headlines
- Inside the turbulent, secret world of an American militia — ProPublica
- Canada's first 'prisoner of conscience' is an Indigenous land defender — Grist
- At least 3 journalists arrested covering DNC protests — The Intercept
- How Trump would use soldiers against riots, crime and migrants — The New York Times
- CrimeCon: Her dad was the BTK Killer. Their daughter was Gabby Petito — Slate
- Bryan Kohberger’s defense doubles down on moving Moscow murder trial to Boise — Idaho Statesman
Lighter Stuff
For you nerds, the Washington State Center for Court Research has a new racial disparity dashboard. Send me a note if you have time to check it out.
The Seattle Times’ Paul Roberts has an interesting piece on the economy of Aurora Avenue.
As always, thanks for reading, and I will talk to you next week. Please reply with any feedback!
-Jared from the PNW Justice Journal
1: After a few days of deliberations, court staff saw two jurors outside the courtroom talking and overheard them discussing photos. One said something to the effect of “not being there to be best friends.” Shortly thereafter, the jury handed in a partially filled out verdict court form to the judge indicating with a verdict on one count and none on the other. Nelson’s attorneys have argued the case should have stopped there with a hung jury, accusing the judge, a Black woman, of “hiding” the verdict and coercing the jury to a guilty verdict. The judge said she treated it as a question because she wouldn’t have called a hung jury so early.
2: I want to endlessly point out that the city of Lakewood’s attorney is John E. Justice. It might be a little too on the nose. Don’t you think?
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