The Eureka Police Department has identified its officers who shot and killed a 31-year-old suspect on Nov. 26 near the main branch of the Humboldt County Library as K9 officers Jeremy Sollom and Nick Jones. According to EPD, the officers opened fire when Matthew Robert Williams, 31, of Cutten, pulled a firearm and chambered a round after fleeing a traffic stop. According to the press release, Sollom has seven years of law enforcement experience, while Jones has four. “This is an active and ongoing investigation and additional information will be released in accordance with state law,” the p ..read more

Eureka Police Department Chief Todd Jarvis is retiring effective Jan. 4, according to an announcement today from the city, with Assistant Chief Brian Stephens slated to step into the role following this departure. Jarvis, whose retirement was announced at Tuesday’s Eureka City Council meeting, is leaving almost exactly two years to the day he stepped into the role of interim chief before officially taking the role less than a year later. “Chief Jarvis and his wealth of experience saw our city and the police department through a very tumultuous time in the city’s history,” City Manager Miles ..read more

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office today stated that it will allow the family of an inmate who suffered “non-survivable” injuries in an apparent suicide attempt at the jail on Nov. 17 to follow his wishes to have his organs donated. The Lost Coast Outpost reported earlier this week that the family of Eric Matilton, 38, was previously told Sheriff William Honsal had denied the request due to the need to conduct a full investigation into his injuries, including a forensic autopsy. According to a press release, Honsal made the determination to allow the organ donation to go forward after con ..read more

The Eureka Police Department has identified the man killed by officers in a shooting Sunday as Matthew Robert Williams, 31, of Cutten. EPD issued a press release this afternoon, offering a bit more detail on the shooting that followed a traffic stop at about 9:35 a.m. Sunday, leaving Williams dead and two officers on administrative leave. According to EPD, the incident began when an officers pulled over a vehicle on M Street, north of Second Street, for having an expired registration tag. When the vehicle stopped, Williams, the right front passenger, got out and fled on foot, according to th ..read more

Sequoia Park Zoo’s bears — Noni and Tule — are branching out into a larger area of their habitat at the facility, which is designed to mimic the natural environment with a waterfall, log structures and even more trees to climb. Tule — a boy —and Noni — a girl — were rescued separately as cubs last year and raised together at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, where they bonded before arriving in Eureka in May after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined the two were not able to be released. “It’s amazing watching them explore,” says Amanda Auston, animal curator at Sequoia Park Zo ..read more

The county’s multi-agency law enforcement Critical Incident Response Team continues to investigate the Eureka Police Department’s fatal shooting of a 31-year-old man, with EPD Assistant Chief Brian Stephens saying the department likely won’t release more information until the end of the week. Details about the shooting remain scant, mostly confined to a 257-word press release EPD distributed roughly nine hours after the shooting. According to the department, an officer or officers attempted to pull a car over shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 26 in the vicinity of Second and M streets, though ..read more

The Eureka Police Department is investigating a police shooting that occurred near the main branch of the Humboldt County Library this morning. According to a social media post from the department, officers have closed off traffic on P Street between Second and Third streets, and is asking the public to remain clear of the area. There is no ongoing danger to the public, according to the post, which advises the street will likely be closed for the remainder of the day. "Updates will be posted as they become available,"the post states. No further details were available ..read more

On Monday, Nov. 20, the Eureka chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence held a TRANScending the Veil ceremony on the Arcata Plaza as part of the national Transgender Day of Remembrance. Attendees lit candles, sang, heard speakers and listened to the names read off of members of the trans community who died over the past year. Photographer Kait Angus was there to capture highlights of the event. The annual event to celebrate and mourn those lost highlights the disproportionate violence, discrimination and high rates of suicide transgender people face. According to the Human Rights Campaig ..read more

Measure A, known as the Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative, is shaping up to be one of the most controversial things on the March ballot and this afternoon a group of about 75 people got a close-up look at some of those arguing most vociferously for and against it. Held at the Baywood Country Club in Arcata, the Humboldt Emeritus and Retired Faculty and Staff Association luncheon meeting saw presentations by proponents Mark Thurmond and Betsy Watson, herself a Cal Poly Humboldt professor emerita, both of whom played central parts in conceiving, drafting, funding and circulating the initiati ..read more

A Hoopa resident killed after her vehicle went off State Route 96 and into Trinity River has been identified as Samantha Davis. She was 26. According to a news release, the California Highway Patrol command center received a call about a vehicle in the river around 5:24 p.m. Wednesday. The Hoopa Fire Department responded to the scene and located the truck about 50 feet from shore. “Based on the CHP’s preliminary investigation, it appears the driver drove the vehicle off a steep embankment and subsequently went into the river, being swept approximately 125 feet down river where it came to re ..read more