VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — A Clark County judge, facing calls to resign after comments he and another court official made about Kevin Peterson Jr. , a Black man killed by deputies, were posted on YouTube, has decided to step away for a period of time.
“I have decided to take some time off to reflect on my behavior and to determine what I can do to help heal the community I have served,” Judge Darvin Zimmerman said in a statement. “I have self reported my statements to the Commission that oversees my actions as a jurist and will fully cooperate with their investigation. I want my colleagues and the public to know that I have accepted responsibility for my actions.”
His full statement is lower in this article.
To limit the spread of COVID-19, court proceedings can be viewed on a livestream. During a courtroom video recording, Judge Zimmerman was talking with another court official about the case.
In the transcript provided by The Columbian, Zimmerman told the other court official Kevin Peterson was “the Black guy they were trying to make an angel out of.”
Zimmerman also talked about the family’s GoFundMe page: “George Floyd attorneys had already contacted him. He has a GoFundMe page that said my unarmed son was murdered by police. He knew his son had a gun. (Unintelligible). That’s like getting money under false pretenses.”
Mark Lindquist, the attorney representing the Peterson family, said, “First, the judge shows no empathy for a grieving father. Secondly, he misunderstands the basic facts of the case. Finally, his gossipmongering and bias undermine confidence in the judiciary.”
The family is expected to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Clark County later this week.
A statement signed by 5 Clark County judges said these statements were indefensible”
“Clark County District Court has zero tolerance for racism. The views of Judge Darvin Zimmerman do not reflect the values of our court nor us as individual judges. Racial bias displayed by a judge is unacceptable, unethical, unjust and cannot be tolerated….
“… As a court we recommit to the pledge we made publicly in July 2020: that Clark County District Court must be a place where litigants, attorneys and employees are treated with dignity and respect regardless of race or background.”
Criminal defense attorneys at Barrar Law called for Zimmerman to resign:
“Judge Zimmerman’s conduct erodes the public’s confidence in our judicial system. A judge’s independence, integrity, and impartiality are paramount in making our system work. When a Judge fails to uphold the Canons of his profession he is no longer fit to serve. Judge Zimmerman should resign. The bias and the racism displayed in his comments have no place in our community and no place in our courtrooms. We must hold our judicial officers to a high standard so that everyone in our community has equal access to justice. Judge Zimmerman has shown that he cannot meet that standard and should resign.”
Zimmerman told The Columbian “any time we lose a life, it is a tragedy; Kevin Peterson is no exception.” But he didn’t apologize or describe his comments as racist.
Full statement from Judge Darvin Zimmerman
I deeply regret my statements which caused divisiveness and concern in the community that I love and serve. I have always prided myself in being open minded, fair and just in my duties as a judicial officer. I do understand that even my personal comments, when made public – bring about an outcry of concern because I am a judicial officer. In my 35 years as a jurist, I have long been a supporter of therapeutic programs that help the impoverished; I have been a promoter and speaker for Veteran’s Court; Mental Health Court and pre arrest diversion programs. I am a staunch supporter of programs that provide alternatives to incarceration which affect people of color and the impoverished.
I have spoken at hundreds of meetings supporting alternative programs to incarceration. I recognize the injustice that befalls men and women of color as well as non native English speaking litigants. I have recommended resources to litigants including Clark College language programs for immigrants who come to court and cannot speak the language. They suffer too because they cannot understand the system and what is happening to them. I have taken a proactive approach to help everyone in my courtroom because I truly believe that there is a better way for justice to be had.
All of these programs that I have supported and encouraged are meant to bring fair and equal justice to all races and genders. In that moment, after court, in a private conversation, I was speaking as a father, about my concerns the delay by 5 months for the investigation to be completed; of a need for closure about Mr. Peterson’s death, which was very tragic, and why it is necessary for that information released to the public to be accurate, so that everyone, including the police get a fair evaluation of what happened.
My concerns as a father do not excuse the fact that my comments caused an already volatile community to again become divisive. I am very sorry for that. I have decided to take some time off to reflect on my behavior and to determine what I can do to help heal the community I have served. I have self reported my statements to the Commission that oversees my actions as a jurist and will fully cooperate with their investigation. I want my colleagues and the public to know that I have accepted responsibility for my actions
The case
Clark County deputies shot and killed Kevin Peterson, 21, on Oct. 29 near the U.S. Bank on NE Highway 99 in Hazel Dell. An independent team is investigating.
Officers with the regional drug task force were investigating Peterson for conspiracy to deliver controlled substances, according to court documents. Peterson was reportedly in contact with a confidential informant who tipped off authorities about Peterson’s plans to sell the informant 50 Xanax pills. The sale was set to take place at about 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the Quality Inn at 7001 NE Highway 99, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Detectives in unmarked cars activated their emergency lights and attempted to stop Peterson when he pulled into the Quality Inn parking lot, according to investigators, who added the detectives were wearing “tactical vests bearing law enforcement identification.”
Peterson fled on foot, detectives ordered him to stop, but he continued and dropped a handgun, according to SWIRT investigators. Detectives allegedly ordered him not to pick up the gun, but Peterson did and continued to run. Detectives did not pursue further, but advised other units by radio that Peterson was armed, investigators said.
As Peterson crossed the U.S. Bank property, deputies allegedly arrived and ordered him to stop. One deputy said Peterson pulled a handgun out of his sweatshirt pocket. The deputy said he ordered Peterson to drop the gun, but the other man kept walking. The deputy said he fired at Peterson as the man continued toward incoming units, according to investigators.
Another deputy said Peterson pointed the gun at him “while running northbound,” prompting him to fire at Peterson. Video from the bank showed Peterson fall, then sit up and point the gun, according to investigators.
Deputies again fired at Peterson and gave commands to drop the gun, according to the SWIRT report. Peterson “eventually set the handgun down,” but continued to “make some movements,” investigators said. Deputies allegedly called for more units to approach Peterson with a shield due to him having a handgun within reach.
About five minutes after shots were fired, deputies rendered first aid to Peterson, according to the SWIRT report.
Peterson was in possession of a Glock model 23 handgun that had one round chambered and one round missing from the magazine, according to investigators. At this time, detectives do not have evidence that Peterson fired the gun while in the U.S. Bank lot, according to the SWIRT report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report