By Barley Lewis-Mccabe
Since March, suspended senior and high-profile student activist Rick Toledo has been fighting two battles. One with University Administration over his academic future, and the other with the Humboldt County District Attorney over a 10-second, non-violent altercation with an Administrator.
On Feb 27, Cal Poly Humboldt students, and community members, staged a 14-hour sit-in in Nelson Hall East. Protesters demanded the university divest from mutual funds associated with Israel and the military-industrial complex, and advocate for Teamsters Local 2010 – a union representing skilled-trades workers across the CSU system – in their ongoing labor dispute and for no students to face disciplinary charges stemming from involvement in a protest that prior week. Students quickly held a support rally outside the building; supporters would smuggle in supplies for the protestors inside Goodwin Forum.
Associate Director of the Gutswurrak Student Activities Center Michael Moore was standing at the entrance to Goodwin Forum to try to prevent students from entering. Three protestors walked up to the door with brown shopping bags full of food and water when Moore approached them and tried to stop them from getting inside. Toledo stood in front of Moore with his arms angled down and to the side and said,
“Don’t worry he won’t do anything.”
The six words Toledo said to the protestors became the justification for Toledo’s felony conspiracy charge.
Moore was uninjured, but in his declaration for a workplace violence restraining order, wrote: “I am reasonably concerned for my safety… given that Mr. Toledo so brazenly assaulted me in broad daylight, in front of so many people.”
Moore later called the UPD non-emergency line to report false imprisonment, assault and battery. Moore connected with Officer Bridgette Faulk – who began and ended her investigation by interviewing Moore over the phone.
On Friday, March 6 at 1 a.m. Toledo was arrested by UPD at his home and released on bail the following Sunday morning. On March 19 UPD carried out a search warrant seizing Toledo’s electronic devices to search for evidence of him communicating with other protestors. UPD was searching for evidence of trespassing, vandalism, assault and battery or any further indication of conspiracy via Toledo directly discussing his interaction with Michael Moore.
Toledo’s defense attorney Matthew Kellegrew argues that due to the non-violent nature of the incident, Toledo’s felony charges were the result of flawed police work.
“Toledo’s alleged act of battery/false imprisonment was brief and maintained no injuries to either party. The alleged contact between the parties was incidental in nature… [Faulk] erroneously identified this act as a felony when, by its own description, it is a misdemeanor,” Kellegrew said.
The defense further argues that since the conspiracy charge was dropped and the original felony charges lack justification, the university should return Toledo’s property.
“It simply cannot be reasonable as a matter of public policy, that an officer with less than one year of experience and with no meaningful training beyond the minimum qualifying standards can identify a complex multi participant criminal conspiracy of the nature described over the phone without asking a single follow up question of the complaining witness that might have supported this theory or conducting any further investigation of any kind,” Kellegrew said.
The prosecution argues that Kellegrew’s requests “conflate distinct remedies and standards, misstates the governing framework, and falls on factual premises.”
When asked for comment, Faulk deferred to university Marketing and Communications, News and Information Director Aileen Yoo said, “The case is in the DA’s hands and the university doesn’t have anything further to add.”
The Lumberjack was unsuccessful in reaching Moore or Deputy Attorney General Dave Watson.
Toledo will have a Jury trial on Monday, Aug 31.
Barley is the opinionated opinion editor and an untraditional reporter who focuses on social change and stories with a real human impact. If you’d like to reach him for whatever reason email bl258@humboldt.edu