Tag Archives: police investigation

BIPOC, Breaking News, Local

Clark County judge taking “time off” after comments on race caught in Zoom meeting

Video

Clark County District Court Judge Darvin Zimmerman, 70, stated he was taking time off after being caught on camera during a Zoom meeting making comments about Kevin Peterson Jr. and Black suspects in general.

Last week between court cases, Judge Zimmerman spoke to another court official while the Zoom meeting was running. During his conversation, he demonstrated judicial and racial bias while disparaging defendants and their family members. The Oregonian released a video of his comments on Monday after a YouTube video was removed on Saturday.

The Barrar Law Firm, one of the largest criminal defense firms in Western Washington, called for Zimmerman’s resignation following the broadcast. Moments later, the other five judges at Clark County District Court condemned Zimmerman’s comment, stating, “racial bias displayed by a judge is unacceptable, unethical, unjust and cannot be tolerated.”

By morning, county prosecutors and defense lawyers alike were filing motions to disqualify Zimmerman on cases he was presiding over. In a story by Oregon Public Broadcasting, Clark County Prosecutor Tony Golik stated, “We’re not indicating that the prosecutor’s office feels like we would necessarily get an unfair ruling. We’re worried more about people that are accused.”

During the Zoom meeting where Zimmerman talks to another unnamed court official, he stated that Kevin Peterson, Jr. had a “death wish” and that he was “so dumb” for fearing a lifetime in jail if he didn’t cooperate with a regional task force. Peterson Jr., a 21-year-old Black man, was shot by police in October during an alleged drug bust. Security camera video and phone records call into question police actions during the attempted arrest of Peterson Jr.

In a further twist, Judge Zimmerman’s son, Erik Zimmerman, was one of the Clark County Sheriff deputies present during the attempted arrest of Peterson Jr. As the suspect ran away from police, the younger Zimmerman was one of three deputies who shot at Peterson Jr.

During the Zoom meeting, Judge Zimmerman suggested that Peterson Jr. family was trying to capitalize on his death, saying, “he wakes up with dollar signs in his eyes and George Floyd’s attorneys.”

Several defense attorneys and public defenders who have petitioned Judge Zimmerman have come forward this week with questions on his conduct and his attitudes towards non-English speaking defendants.

BIPOC, National

New video of Rochester, New York PD pepper spraying Black child emerges

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, February 22, 2021

Warning: This story contains video of police activity that some may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

Rochester, New York Police released another 86 minutes of video of the before, during, and after of a 9-year-old girl in crisis being pepper-sprayed. The disturbing video shows that the mother of the child did not call 911 about her having suicidal ideation or being in a mental health crisis. Instead, the mother is seen chatting with officers about her former significant other having a warrant for his arrest, and that he stole one of her cars.

The video goes on to show the child waits 19 minutes for treatment after being pepper-sprayed, and the EMTs request the cuffs are loosened for being too tight. An NPR report indicates the mother requested a social worker or mental health specialist to come to the call, and officers refused. Hospital officials also denied the child a mental health evaluation.

The mother is now suing the city while three officers are suspended, one without pay over the incident.

BIPOC, Editorial, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: February 22, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from February 22, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Most Tacoma Police Department officers will have body cams by end of the week
  • UW students suspended from attending in-person classes after a snowstorm kegger
  • Rochester, New York Police release 86 more minutes of video of 9-years-old girl pepper sprayed
  • Justice for Elijah McClain inches closer
  • Malcontented Minutes
    • Ohio bomb squad is called on Sprinkles the cat
    • Mashpee-Wampanoag First Nation will keep their tribal lands
    • Mariners president resigns after telling the awful truth about baseball
    • Lake Travis residents in Texas help each other in face of winter disaster
    • Catholic League leaders say Joe Biden’s LGBT obsession is hurting Christians
    • LGBTQ virtual spaces help keep college students connected to combat isolation and depression
    • U.S. shelters for migrant children near-maximum capacity as Biden Administration struggles with “kids in cages’
    • A mariachi band from Houston serenades Ted Cruz outside his home to bring a bit of Mexico vacation to him
    • Mancin Music on TikTok video absolutely shreds Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
    • Kayne West and Kim Kardashian are calling it quits
  • Chad Wheeler arrest video and audio released by Kent Police
  • Walking while Black incident in Plano, Texas
  • Insurrection Update
  • The tale of three vehicular assaults and three different forms of justice in the United States

BIPOC, Five Facts, National

Charges dropped against Plano, Texas Black man walking in street during snowstorm

Five Fast Facts

  • Rodney Reese, 18, was arrested on February 16 for walking in the road in Plano, Texas
  • Someone called 911 to report a Black man stumbling along in the middle of a snow-covered street wearing a short-sleeve shirt and they requested a welfare check
  • Reese repeatedly told officers he was fine and he was walking home from work, police continued to follow him for two-minutes despite denying any aid and then told him he would be detained
  • Officers accuse Reese of resisting arrest but elected not to charge him, and instead charged him with a misdemeanor, being a pedestrian walking in the roadway and arrested him
  • The acting police chief had the charges dropped, saying officers had no cause to stop or detain Reese based on the reason for the call and his response.

PLANO, Texas — A misdemeanor charge has been dropped against a Black man who was arrested last week for walking home on a street during a snowstorm in Texas.

Rodney Reese, 18, was arrested Feb. 16 in Plano and charged with being a pedestrian in the roadway, news outlets reported.

Keep reading at ABC News

Editorial, National

Insurrection update for February 21, 2021

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From Malcontentment Happy Hour, February 18, 2021

A summary of events from February 15 to February 18, 2021

The fallout from the January 6, 2021, Insurrection continues

  • Former social media icon Donald Trump and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell are at war for the soul of the Republican Party
  • Six U.S. Capitol police officers are suspended with pay and another 29 under investigation for aiding insurrections on January 6
  • Leo Bozell IV, son of the founder of NewsBusters, was arrested for his participation in the insurrection
  • Johnathan Mellis aka Cowboy Screech is angry Antifa is getting credit for the insurrection and he wants the world to know it was Trump supporters who did it
  • Eric Munchel and his mother Lisa Eisenhart are refused bail
  • John Sullivan aka Jayden X is allowed to continue to use Facebook, Twitter, and encrypted communications software by a D.C. judge

Local

New details in Mount Vernon political sign murder emerge

[MOUNT VERNON] – (MTN) A Skagit County judge reduced bail for Angela Conjin, 55, to $250,000 in a hearing on Wednesday, as new details emerge about the events that left 32-years old Kamran Cohee dead from a gunshot wound to the head.

Cohee’s boyfriend, Joshua Tyron said that he and Cohee were out for a day of sledding, and stopped to lower the air pressure in the tires of his truck before driving further on the snow-covered road, according to KING 5 of Seattle. He admits to seeing the Loren Culp sign in the yard and removing it.

John Conjin, the spouse of Angela emerged from the home and he and Tyron got into a physical fight. Both parties provided different stories of how the physical fight started and what happened during it, but both parties are consistent in the actions committed by Ms. Conjin. After the fight had ended and both Cohee and Tyron were at their truck, Conjin emerged from her home with a gun firing several shots, striking Cohee in the head, killing her. Both sides stated that Cohee wasn’t involved in the theft of the sign or the earlier fight between the two men.

John Conjin has been charged with fourth-degree assault for his actions on Saturday. Tyron has not been charged, but prosecutors have not ruled out potential charges for him. Prosecutors have charged Anglea Conjin with second-degree murder using a magistrate warrant, which provides prosecutors 30 days to process formal charges. During her bail hearing, Brett Purtzer, Conjin’s attorney, argued this was a self-defense case. Prosecutors countered that by reports from all parties the fight was over and Cohee wasn’t involved in the altercation when Angela shot the 32-year-old woman.

Ms. Conjin was able to post bail and is out of jail. As part of her bail conditions, she had to surrender all firearms and ammunition in her home.

BIPOC, Editorial, LGBTQIA, Local, National, Stupid Human Tricks, Weather

Malcontentment Happy Hour: February 18, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from February 18, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Remembering Anias Valencia – NAAM Memorial
  • Seattle police shoot and kill a suicidal man
  • Malcontented Minutes
    • Disney issues cultural advisories on certain movies but excludes Pocahontas
    • Two Florida men claim to be US Marshals to avoid wearing masks
    • Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoon greets a newborn baby gorilla
    • Puerto Rico declares an emergency due to ongoing gender-identification violence
    • Bachelor/Bachelorette host Chris Harrison stepping down amid southern plantation ball flap
    • Ohio man skips a job interview to rob a bank instead
    • Mattress Mack of Houston opens up his stores to freezing Houston residents
    • Los Angeles Schools defund the police to invest in Black student achievement
    • Ted Cruz says “let ’em eat snow” as he takes off for Cancun amid one of worst weather disasters in Texas history
    • US House is expected to pass sweeping LGBTQ reform bill next week
  • Joe Biden gets facts wrong on minimum wage, immigration, and what is going on with COVID stimulus
  • Insurrection upate

Local

SPD releases video of the officer-involved shooting of a suicidal man

This video is extremely graphic in nature, viewer discretion is advised

[SEATTLE] – (MTN) The Seattle Police Department released a video of the fatal officer-involved shooting on February 16. Seattle police responded to a 911 call about a suicidal man along the Seattle waterfront who had a kitchen knife and had used it to cut himself. Two officers fired on the man, killing him on the scene.

The video includes the 9:20 PM 911 call asking for Seattle Police, with arriving officers knowing the individual was suicidal, armed, and had used the knife to cut himself. The video shows two officers arriving in a cruiser, and noting he was armed. From the time the passenger door of the police cruiser was opened to the shooting is 14 seconds.

The distraught man alternates from putting his hands up and making motions with the knife while yelling at officers, “do it, do it,” and asking to die. On Tuesday night, Seattle Police stated they used de-escalation techniques and less-lethal weapons were deployed with no effect. The released video doesn’t show less-lethal options being used nor does it show any attempt to negotiate with the distraught man.

https://malcontentment.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SPD-Suicidal-Person-Shooting.mp4
SEATTLE POLICE RELEASED A VIDEO SHOWING THE OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING ON FEBRUARY 16. tHE VIDEO IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC – VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

Two officers remain on administrative leave per department procedure.

A vigil and protest were marred tonight by violence when right-wing protesters bear maced a group, with reports of fights breaking out. A window was smashed at Westlake Center, but Seattle Police didn’t respond. Independent journalists at the protest tonight reported that the right-wing protesters were armed, and during the conflict where bear mace was deployed, a weapon was displayed. Several well-known protesters and independent journalists from Portland were in Seattle tonight both filming and acting as counterprotesters.

Tuesday’s shooting was the second fatal police shooting in a week.

Local

Bail set at $500K for Mount Vernon political sign murder

1 Comment

[MOUNT VERNON] – (MTN) Bail was set for $500,000 for Angela Marie Conjin in Skagit County Superior Court this morning. Conjin is accused of shooting a 32-year-old Arlington woman over an altercation involving a political sign for Loren Culp.

According to the Skagit County Sheriff’s department, John Conjin, the husband of Angela Conjin, told authorities he saw a suspicious vehicle that he thought could be involved in mail theft. He went outside to confront the occupants and an argument ensued. Mr. Conjin claims he got into a physical altercation with the driver of the truck, that continued to his front porch, and there was an attempt to steal the campaign sign. The female passenger of the pickup truck got out of the vehicle, and at about the same Ms. Conjin emerged from the home with a firearm, firing several shots. The 32-year-old woman who was killed had not been involved in the earlier physical interaction.

The man in the pickup claims he was punched by Mr. Conjin through an open window before engaging in a further altercation.

Police arrested John Conjin for assault in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor, and arrested Angela Conjin for investigation of second-degree murder. Mr. Conjin has been released, while Ms. Conjin was formally charged on Tuesday afternoon and is still in Skagit County Jail.

Police have not identified the other man who fought with Mr. Conjin, nor if he will face any criminal charges. Authorities have not identified the name of the 32-year old victim. Malcontent News has the name but is withholding it pending confirmed notification to the next of kin.

Public records show Anglea Conjin was a teacher’s aide for the Sedro-Wooley School District. In 2019 she trained to be a hairstylist and started working for La Conner Hair Design. Calls and messages to La Conner Hair Design went unanswered. Investigators have not released the nature of the political sign, but a report from Seattle TV station KING 5, indicates it was a Loren Culp Sign. Loren Culp lost the gubernatorial election in Washington state by 545,000 votes but refused to concede and made baseless allegations of fraud without evidence. Public records show Conjin is a registered Republican in the state of Washington.

Five Facts, Local

Three arrested for murder of teen at Houghton Beach Park

Five Fast Facts

  • 18-year old Cyrus Mason was shot and killed in Kirkland’s Houghton Beach Park on September 16, 2020, during an attempt to buy a firearm
  • Three suspects were arrested this morning after a months-long investigation – two are juveniles and one is an adult
  • The adult is Jowayne C. Kaufman, who was booked into King County Jail at 8:25 AM this morning
  • Cyrus Mason had moved to the area from Idaho and was working on the Microsoft campus as a painter
  • Houghton Beach Park was a trouble spot over the summer of 2020, making the national news when a brawl broke out among teens and young adults flaunting COVID rules – the city responded by closing the park

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the deadly shooting of a teenager at a Kirkland park last year, police say.

The three – two juvenile males and an adult male – were taken into custody early Wednesday after an investigation linked them to the killing of 18-year-old Cyrus Mason at Houghton Beach Park on Sept. 16, 2020.

Keep reading at KOMO 4