People-Not-Being-Prosecuted News

The last several days have brought news of various people in high-profile cases who are not going to be prosecuted for any alleged misdeeds. 

The district attorneys up in Clark County have decided to let slide five of the eight people arrested in the Kevin Peterson protests and counter-protests back in October and November. The three others are still live cases. It's not clear on which side of the battle line the would-be suspects raged.

We still haven't seen the autopsy of Peterson, who was shot by police on October 30 as he was running away from them in a drug bust gone wrong. Maybe his family will get their hands on it and reveal it when they sue the county. It should show which way he was facing when the bullets hit. Video appears to show the first one hitting him in the back.

Meanwhile, the U.S. attorney for Oregon, Billy Williams, has announced that he can't make a criminal case against the West Linn cops and others who participated in the baseless arrest of a Black man in Portland in 2017. 

“Here, the government cannot prove that the manner in which Mr. Fesser was arrested violated a federally protected right, or that the actions taken by law enforcement officials were willful,” the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement Friday.

Federal prosecutors would've had to not only prove Fesser's conditional rights were violated, but that the West Linn and Portland officers involved in Fesser’s arrest acted willfully.

“Willfulness requires proof that an officer acted with the specific intent to do something the law forbids,” the U.S. attorney’s office stated. “It is not enough to show that an officer made a mistake, acted negligently, acted by accident or mistake, or even exercised bad judgment.”

Williams is on his way out of office after his faithful defense of the Trump stormtroopers and his brief term as self-appointed shadow county district attorney. A Portland congressman, Earl the Pearl Blumenauer, is outraged at Williams's decision not to prosecute.

I find it incredibly upsetting that Trump’s outgoing U.S. Attorney for Oregon has decided that he can’t make a case out the clearly illegal and unjustified arrest of Michael Fesser.

— Earl Blumenauer (@repblumenauer) February 19, 2021

The evidence in the case included some blatant indications of racial bias. 

In May of last year, Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote found "deeply disturbing" misconduct by West Linn police officers in their investigation and arrest of Fesser. 

Foote was particularly troubled by racist text messages exchanged between [Detective Tony] Reeves and [his friend Eric] Benson as they discussed the investigation. 

While the the DA recommended the revocation of the Department of Public Safety Standards and Trainings license of both Reeves and [Police Chief Terry] Timeus, decisions on prosecution of officers for any particular misdeeds in the case were left to federal officials.

Williams's last day on the job is this coming Sunday.