The following abbreviated description of the timeline and circumstances has been obtained largely from the National Police Foundation report titled "Independent Review of the Police Response to the Homicide of David Josiah Lawson". Refer to this report for more detailed information and a detailed timeline of events.
On the night of April 14th 2017, a party was held at a home at 1120 Spear Ave in the city of Arcata by a group of Humboldt State University students affiliated with a campus group called "Brothers United". David Josiah Lawson, a young African American student, served as the president of this group. Information about the party spread via social media and the party was reportedly attended by approximately 100 people. Among those in attendance were 3 local women who had heard of the party via social media.
Shortly before 3 AM, Kyle Zoellner, a young white man from the neighboring town of Mckinleyville, arrived to the party by car to pick up the 3 women. One of those women, Lila Ortega, who was also Zoellner's girlfriend, reportedly lost her cell phone at some point in the night and returned to the home with Zoellner to look for it. A heated exchange over the lost cell phone occurred at the front of the residence involving Ortega, Zoellner, a female and a group of males, which included Lawson. The details of this altercation remain somewhat contested and unclear.
The Arcata Police Department (APD) received the first 911 call of a fight in progress at 3:00 AM. While responding, multiple additional 911 calls were received with one reporting that an individual was armed with a knife and a gun and another reporting that an individual had been stabbed.
APD arrived minutes later to a chaotic scene with what officers reported to be a large and agitated crowd of as many as 100 people. Bystanders directed officers to a grassy area where Lawson was laying in the bushes, unconscious with numerous stab wounds. Two officers rendered aid to Lawson while the first officer to arrive at scene placed Kyle Zoellner in handcuffs and seated him in the rear of his police vehicle. Zoellner would be arrested that night transported to a local hospital for medical clearance before being booked into the Humboldt County jail. Lawson was transported by ambulance to Mad River Community Hospital where he was ultimately pronounced deceased.
In the following days, rumors of a racial motivation to the crime, racial bias by police, racial bias by the fire department and racial bias by medical personnel began to develop. These rumors went largely unchecked as APD released little information about the case.
Days later, the district attorney filed murder charges against Zoellner. Zoellner, represented by the public defender, exercised his right to a speedy trial and a preliminary hearing was held starting on May 1, 2017. The hearing continued for 5 days, during which 17 witnesses testified and numerous exhibits were presented. Despite the 911 call reporting that an individual was armed with a knife and a gun, no witness at the trial testified to seeing a knife or witnessing the stabbing. Additionally, physical evidence from the scene, including a knife and clothing fibers and fingerprints from that knife, could not be linked to Zoellner. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court dismissed the case citing a lack of evidence to show probable cause.
The case continued to receive significant local attention with many alleging that racism played a role in the lack of prosecution in the case. During this time, two separate lawsuits were filed against the City of Arcata by both Lawson's mother and Kyle Zoellner. Thomas Chapman, the former Arcata police chief resigned during this period. Despite this, APD repeatedly claimed that it was continuing its investigation, with interim police chief Richard Ehle even stating that APD possessed "unequivocal physical evidence"in the case (2).
The case was put before a criminal grand jury by Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming in March 2019. On March 13, 2019, after 5 full days of testimony from 25 witnesses(3), the grand jury declined to indict anyone in the case.
While the Lawson v. City of Arcata lawsuit was settled out of court in 2021, the Zoellner v. City of Arcata lawsuit continues to work its way through federal court and has revealed a multitude of details about the case that have not yet been reported.
References:
- National Police Foundation "Independent Review of the Police Response to the Homicide of David Josiah Lawson"
- North Coast Journal "APD Interim Chief: There is 'Unequivocal Physical Evidence' in Lawson Case"
- TRANSCRIPT OF ZOOM PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE HONORABLE DONNA M. RYU UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE