Lawson case objections overwhelm Arcata council meeting: ‘no justice, no peace’

Mayor loses control of meeting during protests; students decry lack of suspects, city's non-dismissal of false Craigslist accusation; police chief asks witnesses to step forward, reports progress in investigation but can't disclose details; mother speaks out; council to hold additional meetings solely on Lawson case.
                                                     Kevin L. Hoover-Mad River Union
​ARCATA CITY HALL – Following a chaotic City Council meeting, the City of Arcata has committed to holding a special meeting on the fourth Thursday of every month to discuss the unsolved killing of David Josiah Lawson.
The Wednesday, Sept. 6 regular council meeting didn’t get very far past the Consent Calendar before dissolving into sometimes extremely heated debate over the Lawson case, its handling and pleas for justice for the slain Humboldt State student. Dozens of citizens turned out as part of a Facebook event titled “Student & Community Support at City Hall for David Josiah Lawson,” with multiple speakers demanding progress on the investigation into the April 15 stabbing death of Lawson.
The Early Oral Communication period, usually featuring a handful of speakers speaking briefly, stretched more than an hour-and-a-half into the meeting, with the usual time constraints abandoned.
Multiple speakers pleaded with police and the council to identify and prosecute a suspect. Many accused the city of complacency and disinterest. One man said city officials should pursue the case as though Lawson was their own child, and that had they done so, more progress would have been made by now. “You’re the people in power, and y’all aren’t doing nothing,” he said. “Why is nothing happening?” Some cited an anonymous Craigslist “Rants and Raves” posts, one of which claimed that Elijah Chandler, an HSU student who had been present at the party where Lawson was killed, was a prime suspect.
Tina Sampay, a free-lance journalist, said the city’s failure to explicitly dismiss the fictitious Craigslist claims as false allowed Chandler to be blamed for the killing, and that “you guys clearly don’t care.”  She said her understanding was that Kyle Zoellner, originally named as a suspect, was still the prime suspect.
Another man said that the nearly five months without a suspect will result in loss of enrollment at Humboldt State and harm the city’s financial interests, and that perhaps that will motivate the city to act. “Is that going to actually galvanize you to do anything?” he asked. He said an attendee at the party where Lawson was killed had attacked and bitten Lawson’s girlfriend, but was not properly investigated as a suspect. “You have  people who have committed crimes who have not been arrested,” he said. “This person is walking around the street and they could run into the person they assaulted and just laugh about it … You’ve created a climate where it really is OK for us to be hurt, then you’re surprised when we’re upset.”
“This is ridiculous,” he said. “Five whole months. You’ve literally done nothing.” Police Chief Tom Chapman responded by stating that the investigation was active and making progress, but that in order to build a prosecutable case, it had to remain confidential. He called the protracted delay in finding a suspect “unacceptable,” he said “action has not stopped, and is continuing … it cannot be jeopardized by premature action.”  
Chapman said an experienced outside homicide investigator, Tom Parker, a retired FBI agent, is reviewing the case “from start to finish.” He implored some witnesses who had been at the party where Lawson was stabbed and who haven’t been interviewed to step forward. Evidence analyzed by the federal Dept. of Justice (DOJ) is now coming back, but Chapman said he couldn’t provide details. He said the Craigslist poster was a non-credible “troll,” who didn’t deserve legitimacy. Advocates for Lawson weren’t satisfied with Chapman’s reassurances.
Interrupting his staff report, Keesha Weaver, a cousin of Lawson’s mother, Charmaine Lawson, demanded that police investigate Craiglist posts which purported to offer leads in the case. Mayor Susan Ornelas repeatedly pleaded for order, but that was not to be had as Weaver spoke of the family’s anguish and implored city officials to “be honest.” Chapman said APD spoke with the Craigslist poster, and called his posting  “a made-up, make-believe BS story.”
Alluding to the accusation against Chandler, Lorna Bryant said that “people in our community are being empowered by misinformation,” which the city isn’t acting to abate. She accused Chapman of “empowering trolls” by not “squelching” them with factual information. Charmaine Lawson asked why the woman at the party who she said attacked her son’s girlfriend hadn’t been arrested and pressured to give information.
“Why is she not being charged with attempted murder?” she asked.
Addressing her directly, Chapman said that he was attempting to navigate the law and preserve the integrity of the investigation.
“We do not want to do anything through the legal process that will jeopardize the conviction of the person responsible for murdering your son,” he said. Chapman later said that “we are aware of other alleged criminal activity at the party, reports have been taken and will be referred to the District Attorney’s office.”
City Manager Karen Diemer said the city would like to hold an additional, “less formal” listening forum on the Lawson case next Wednesday, Sept. 13. She said seven working groups have been created to “take leadership in bringing social and racial justice to our community,” prompted by the Lawson killing.
“We will continue to work for justice for Josiah,” Diemer said. “We talk about it every single day and we work on it every day and we will continue to do that.”
Ornelas said she will continue to meet informally with those concerned about the matter, and that she has written the DOJ asking that it step up its assistance. Following a break, the council took up a routine agendized matter involving revision of the city’s design review process.
A presentation by the city’s Community Development department was interrupted by chants of “no justice, no peace.” A woman told Ornelas to “get Chapman to make a statement to correct the damage that has been done to Elijah Chandler’s image in the community, his name in the community … you’re letting a troll dominate what’s going on in people’s minds …”
Diemer said she would ask Chandler if a statement dismissing the Craigslist post as false meets with his wishes, and if it does, the city would do so. She said she had done a search of media coverage of the case, and that the false naming of Chandler as “suspect #1” had been largely left out of the narratives. But a statement specifically about him, reproduced in media outlets, could also set off another round of hateful blogging, and only draw further inappropriate attention to Chandler as a guilty party. Chapman was further concerned that such a statement could, as Chapman later put it, “give credit to an anonymous troll, and give him the notoriety he wants,” and “put a young college student [Chandler] through the ringer.” “I hope that we honor what Elijah’s wishes are,” Councilmember Paul Pitino said. “Not what other people want for him.”
Murmurs of agreement rose from the crowd. “We’re happy to do that for him if he thinks that’s a benefit for him,” Diemer said. “There is no validation in those posts.” Multiple speakers further assailed the council for what they said was inaction and disinterest in the case. Others decried “biased media coverage” as provoking violence against social justice activists.
After more protests, some emotional, Ornelas pushed back with frustration. “I don’t know what to say,” she said. “If I say I feel your pain, you don’t believe me.” She tried to proceed with the meeting's regular business, but the students weren’t having it. “Actions speak,” said one young man. Another accused the city of cultural misappropriation toward African-Americans.
The “no justice, no peace” chanting then resumed for several minutes.
Home viewers were shown a graphic saying that the meeting had adjourned, but eventually the live feed from the chamber came back on. More, less contentious dialogue on the crisis continued, with protesters speaking off-mic from the back of the gallery.
They continued their objections to the lack of city leadership in the investigation and in not denouncing the spurious accusation against Chandler.
One said the passivity “legitimized” the online trolling against Chandler. Councilmember Sofia Pereira said she wondered whether agendizing an active police investigation whose details can’t be discussed would be helpful or harmful. The students pressed their demand for an explicit disclaimer of the Craigslist post. Eventually the council set the additional monthly council meetings to discuss the Lawson case. These are tentatively to occur the fourth Thursday of the month at 6 p.m., with the first to occur Sept. 21.
In addition, Councilmember Brett Watson will be available to meet with the public for open, unstructured discussion the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Center, 321 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, Arcata. Vice Mayor Sofia Pereira said “some good points were brought up regarding misinformation about the case … Overall there has been a lesson, we need to do a better job clarifying whatever we can share with the public.” Continued Pereira, “I feel that I know that our police department is working incredibly hard but I understand people’s frustration that we’re not doing enough.” She said the additional meeting could help expedite communication, and that the city is looking for ways to make it work. “It’s a really good step forward, discussing students safety and racial equity, and having a forum for that.” “We’ll have to talk through the logistics and if there’s anything we can do to make it more informal,” Pereira said.
That might include assisting those who want to livestream the meeting. Lawson’s mother’s pleas were paramount, the vice mayor said. “I hear what Charmaine Lawson is saying – she wants her son’s name said, and that he not be forgotten.”