Martin Frederick Cotton II
Martin Frederick Cotton II, 26, was a free spirit with a lifelong love of art who could draw anything asked of him, and his father remembered him as a good friend who would give you the shirt off his back and as a former junior paramedic who helped save lives. He died at the Humboldt County Jail on August 9, 2007, about two hours after being booked, following a confrontation with Eureka police near the Eureka Rescue Mission. Witnesses told the North Coast Journal they saw officers strike and kick him, while Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen said the department's actions were not the direct cause of death and that jail video showed him hitting his head against a cell wall. An autopsy noted a subdural hematoma, but the Humboldt County Coroner's Office had not yet said whether it caused the death, and a county critical incident team was investigating.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (disputed). Witnesses told the paper officers struck and kicked him, while Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen said jail video showed him hitting his head against a cell wall, and the coroner had not yet said whether an autopsy-noted subdural hematoma caused the death.
Reported by: Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen; witnesses.