A year plus 153 days later Gallegos makes his move... Moore case headed to grand jury?
Public officials who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Eureka Reporter last week that a criminal grand jury will be convened to look into the death of Cheri Moore, a mentally ill woman who was shot and killed by officers from the Eureka Police Department in 2006.
The officials said Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos assigned veteran prosecutor Arnie Klein to impanel the grand jury, which would determine whether charges should be filed against law enforcement personnel involved in the incident.
EPD Chief Garr Nielsen confirmed Tuesday that he had discussed with Gallegos “in general terms the possibility of a grand jury” in the Moore case, adding that he was not necessarily opposed to the idea.
Nielsen said that in Oregon, where he previously worked, all cases in which a death resulted from police use of force were reviewed by a grand jury.
“It’s common practice in my view,” he said, “but my impression is that it’s not common here. That gives me some level of trepidation about it if it’s unusual for a case to be reviewed by a grand jury.”
Were a grand jury impaneled, Nielsen said, it would be his “clear expectation” that its purpose would be to conduct “a very fair and objective review of the incident without any slant toward securing a criminal indictment against any police officers involved. ...”
“I think to bring closure we should look at the case as carefully and dispassionately as possible. If the grand jury could accomplish that in an unbiased manner, then I don’t necessarily have any objection to it.”
He said it would, however, be “extremely detrimental to this community if there was any kind of dog-and-pony show that laid out these officers who were just doing their jobs.”
A criminal grand jury typically consists of 19 community members. Its proceedings take the place of a preliminary hearing, in which a judge determines whether a case brought by the District Attorney’s Office will proceed to trial.
Gallegos would neither confirm nor deny the reports, but said by e-mail Tuesday, “This community is entitled to an impartial finding, whether it is by me or by a grand jury,” noting that “continued hype” surrounding the incident has both hindered and delayed the process.
“This incident is going to take a long time to heal,” Gallegos wrote. “I believe we will come out better for it, but it will take time. But the only way that can happen is if we work to set aside the passions and prejudices that so often dominate our discussions of things and work toward patience, compassion and understanding for all people.”
Moore, 48, was killed in her Eureka apartment on April 14, 2006, after she brandished a flare gun during an approximately two-hour standoff with the EPD.
Nielsen reiterated Tuesday that he believed his officers acted appropriately in the incident.
In conclusion, Gallegos wrote, “I believe Cheri Moore’s death was/is a symptom of other bigger issues that our community has and is faced with. What the diagnosis is will ultimately be decided by others.”
UNTIL GALLEGOS CONFIRMS THE FACT THAT HE IS CHOOSING THIS ROUTE, I'LL KEEP THE DAY COUNT GOING.
But by choosing this route, he is essentially announcing that he is choosing to file charges. I repeat - he has no business handling this case. It should have been immediately handed over to the Attorney General. Gallegos' handlers made huge political hay out of this case, and he is too vested in the anti-cop agenda to make any kind of fair decision in this case. Period.
After all this time do you actually think that the peace officers will get a fair grand jury review? I mean come on, the only reason that PVG is doing this is so he doesn't look like the bad guy anymore. He and his handlers are hopeing that the grand jury will decide to criminally charge the officers involved and then he will sit back and say, "Wow, what a passionate, calm turn of events and i'm not the devil for doing it."
ReplyDeleteThis is a joke, Humboldt County has turned into a joke. The DA is a Joke.
Veteran prosecutor Klien? He has been in a prosecutor one year here and failed probation after one year in Monterey. Two years does not a "veteran" make.
ReplyDeleteIf Gallegos has charges that he wants to present to the Grand Jury, he should just file a complaint and have the whole thing out before a judge and with the input from the defense.
This is pathetic.
Since there is no way on God's green earth that a Grand Jury impaneled in Hum-dolt will ever be fair to the cops, WHEN they go to trial after the indictment, Gallegos, by his stalling, has built in a virtual guarantee of change of venue. His complicity with the jackasses from the Slime-Standard and their constant drumbeat of negativity will ensure no chance of a fair trial.
ReplyDelete"Were a grand jury impaneled, Nielsen said, it would be his “clear expectation” that its purpose would be to conduct “a very fair and objective review of the incident without any slant toward securing a criminal indictment against any police officers involved. ...”
ReplyDeleteThis statement is a complete oxymoron.And how about without any slant that would be of defense to an officer who was involved in some wrongdoing.So he's saying he likes the idea of the grand jury just as long as their sole intent is to exonerate the police,and that's justice?So much for fair and impartial huh.
Clearly, Gags is ball-less. If he had any he would just file a complaint charging those involved. In the GJ process he has to present the testimony again, (nothing has changed since all the reports were in months ago and the coroners inquest has had the live public testimony). What a waste of time. He must present specific charges to the GJ to find true(again, the same stuff that was in the same reports and the same testimony as the inquest.) Since he obviously knows what charges he is going to submit, then he should just charge it cause there is nothing new. No, this is going to be the same old dog and pony show.
ReplyDeleteHope the TS and ER take him on on this one. There is nothing new to be presented to this potential GJ that has not been in the previous reports or the coroners inquest. No this is more stalling on his account. How to drag the same old shit up and keep this community divided all because he can’t and won’t do his job. Pretty obvious who is pulling the strings here and it is not this electorate.
No - he doesn’t want this to go before a judge at a preliminary hearing because it will be tossed out. He wants to get the GJ to indict (put a bad DDA in there and the GJ would indict a tennis shoe) so he can keep this going for the next year.
So if he manages to lie the same way to the criminal GJ as he did to the civil GJ, then expect the motions to dismiss the indictments to start flying soon. Motions to dismiss for lack of facts and getting the law wrong- the same as with the civil grand jury and the precise reasons those allegations were thrown out too. Expect it to continue to divide the community (just like it did with the civil GJ).
Hopefully, after the idiot again offends justice, there will be another kindly judge who will again throw the damn thing out.
And Klien is NO veteran prosecutor. That’s a laugh!
mresquan, the interpretation of the Chief's statement is dependent on where the emphasis is placed. Kind of like ASSess versus assESS.
ReplyDeleteHe said that he wanted it fair and impartial, without it being slanted toward a criminal indictment. And at the same time, not slanted toward exoneration either. No slant, period. Either way. It just depends on what you want to have it say.
AK is, by the standards of what's left of the DA's office, a vet.He has more than a year's experience as a prosecutor. He is capable of doing competent work.
ReplyDeleteoh that's comforting...A veteran in that office is someone with a years experience.....
ReplyDeleteThat’s pathetic.