NCJ Daily Online

FROM DAILY ONLINE Facing Discipline, EPD Brass Choose Retirement

The city of Eureka’s highly publicized investigation into a unit of police officers’ dehumanizing, vulgar and violent text messages that made national headlines has come to an end — not with a bang, but with a whimper.

The city issued a press release March 28 noting that a police captain and sergeant facing pending “disciplinary action” from the department informed the city March 25 that they would be retiring effective immediately. Another officer who was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation terminated employment with the city on Sept. 17, per the press release.

“Appropriate corrective action has been taken on all other individuals involved,” the press release states.

While the captain, sergeant and departed officer are not named in the press release, it seems clear they are former Capt. Patrick O’Neill, Sgt. Rodrigo Reyna-Sanchez and officer Mark Meftah.

Reyna-Sanchez and Meftah were the officers primarily responsible for sending the text messages — first leaked to the Sacramento Bee by an anonymous source and then corroborated through a Journal public records request — that used vulgar, misogynistic and dehumanizing language to describe homeless residents and women.

O’Neill, one of EPD’s two captains, meanwhile, was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation in May, after the scope of the text messaging investigation was expanded to include allegations of his misconduct, as well as that of three officers, which were unearthed in the initial investigation.

“The text messages brought to light by the article and confirmed during the independent investigation were abhorrent and are not representative of the respect that members of EPD have for our citizenry,” Interim Police Chief Todd Jarvis said in the city’s press release. “These actions fly in the face of the extensive efforts that our team has taken to ensure we address every challenge with a clear focus on human dignity, professionalism and respect for the individual.”

In the release, City Manager Miles Slattery thanked the public for its patience throughout the “extensive investigation” as the city “weathered this storm.” He said he will be asking the city’s recently hired police auditor to conduct “a complete review and audit of the entire process surrounding this investigation and its disposition.”

— Thadeus Greenson POSTED 03.28.22 Read the full story online.

Prey-go-neesh Comes Home

Yurok Tribe/Facebook More than a century has passed since condors last soared over Yurok ancestral lands but that’s about to change — as soon as next month — after four juvenile birds arrived on the North Coast this week. The four young condors will spend the next few weeks in the above photographed enclosure with a “mentor” bird brought in to impart social and survival skills before they are set free to soar the North Coast’s skies. The young birds’ arrival culminates nearly two decades of work by members of the Yurok Tribe, whose connection with the bird they call prey-go-neesh goes back to the beginning of time, with the condor considered to be among Earth’s first creatures and the one that carries their prayers to the Creator. POSTED 03.28.22

Make us a part of your daily life

For the news as it develops and all you need to understand politics, people and art on the North Coast, follow us online.

Cyclist Identified: The California Highway Patrol has identified the bicyclist killed in a March 23 collision on Herrick Avenue as Eureka’s Michael David Eagan. He was 75. According to CHP, Eagan was riding northbound on Elk River Road when for unknown reasons he passed into the intersection with Herrick Avenue and directly into the path of an oncoming truck. He died at

the scene. POSTED 03.28.22 Tanner Pleads: Southern Humboldt’s Ryan Tanner, 34, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the grisly February 2020 killing of Jason Todd Garrett, 32, who Tanner reportedly kidnapped off a rural road. Under the deal, Tanner — who had faced murder charges — will be sentenced in April to serve 39 years in prison and has agreed to forfeit two years’ credit for time served. POSTED 03.25.22 Audit Blasts Utilities: The state auditor reported last month that state officials are failing to hold California’s electric utilities accountable for preventing fires caused by their equipment. The report to the Legislature found the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety approved utility companies’ wildfire prevention plans even when “seriously deficient,” including plans for PG&E, which was found responsible for 2018’s Camp Fire that killed 85 people. POSTED 03.24.22

northcoastjournal.com/ncjdaily

Digitally Speaking

The number of fentanyl pills seized in a Humboldt County Drug Task Force bust last week, the largest bust of the powerful opioid in Humboldt County history. The operation also led to the seizure of eight firearms, including three “ghost guns,” and three arrests. POSTED 03.23.22 northcoastjournal ncj_of_humboldt ncjournal northcoastjournal newsletters

They Said It

“El Leñador was rewarded for all of our passion and hard work. It filled my journalist soul with happiness and excitement to do more.”

— Karina Ramos Villalobos, co-editor in chief of Cal Poly Humboldt’s bilingual newspaper, after its staff took home numerous honors, including the “People’s Choice” award in Best of Show, at a college newspaper conference in March.

Comment of the Week

“LEOs should not be allowed to retire with full pensions after allegations. Complete administrative investigations should occur and if the LEO is guilty, they should lose their jobs and their pensions.”

— Jim Duffy commenting on the Journal’s Facebook page on the above story about an EPD sergeant and captain retiring in the face of pending disciplinary action. POSTED 03.29.22