Former Eureka Police Chief David Douglass and Lt. Tony Zanotti may be indicted by a grand jury for the shooting and ultimate death of a woman, who had a history of mental illness, in April 2006. Although neither the Chief nor the Lieutenant were directly involved in the shooting, they may be held accountable for the actions of the officers they were in charge of.
Sounds too good to be true, right?
According to Peter Keane, (Golden Gate University School of Law professor, and Dean Emeritus) this decision by the grand jury is going to have far-reaching impacts on command personnel in tactical operations all over the state, and maybe even the nation.
My thoughts are that if the indictments are in fact handed down, this could be a perfect example for the City of Oakland to follow. Meaning if Oakland Police Department’s commanding officers knew that they would undoubtedly be held accountable for their officers’ actions, this could spark a fire in the department and require each and every officer to hold himself/herself up to the standards they should already be operating under.
So far there has been no official word regarding the indictment from Humboldt County’s District Attorney.
But it does give one cause to ponder whether grand jury indictments could be sought in the recent, tragic killing of Gary King Jr. here in Alameda County.
Perhaps we all just need an example to follow, and if the indictments are in fact handed down in Humboldt County, it could clear a pathway for other counties to follow suit.
4 Comments
would be awesome. not holding my breath, though.
I think that the Humboldt County case is a great lead. The grand jury has decided and it will be interesting to see the process through. I was raised in Humboldt County and poor, we are not the urban poor we are called the rural poor. I have witnessed and lived in several small towns where illegal shootings have taken place and it is just as prevalent as in the cities, only we console ourselves that we live in a safer area when in fact in this respect we do not. When it becomes a crime to be mentally disabled or a crime to be poor and in fact become endangered by the very force that is supposed to protect, that is when the system is broken and no longer working for the good of the people. When predators are let loose in police uniform and habitually prey on the poor and socially derelict of our society then they become essentially an additional danger and threat to those populations who are already severely disadvantaged. This is a moral disgrace for the police force and the American citizens alike. I am so proud of the Ella Baker Foundation for becoming agents of change in the face of their adversaries.
Tamie Kautz is Awsem
Tamie You Are The Most Wonderful Person In the World, I’am So Happy I Met You.You’re Thiesis was Bitchin.Keep up The Great work,You’re friend Dave