OLYMPIA, Wash. — A Washington state judicial ethics panel has dropped its case against a former Clark County judge, citing concerns about his health. Judge Darvin Zimmerman's comments about a Black man killed in a 2020 police shooting sparked outrage and calls for his resignation.
Deputies with the Clark County Sheriff's Office shot and killed 21-year-old Kevin Peterson Jr. during a botched drug sting in October 2020. Court documents say that Peterson sold 50 Xanax pills to an informant at the Quality Inn in Hazel Dell, and he ran when deputies attempted to take him into custody.
Investigators concluded that Peterson was carrying a gun, and then-Sheriff Chuck Atkins initially claimed that Peterson had fired first. An independent investigation ultimately found no evidence that Peterson had fired the gun at all, but it did determine that Peterson had pointed the gun at officers. Deputies fired 34 rounds, hitting Peterson four times. Prosecutors decided that the shooting was "justified and lawful."
As inquiries into the circumstances of the shooting were still going on in March 2021, Judge Zimmerman's comments over a hot mic in a Clark County courtroom came to light, having been streamed live on YouTube. He described Peterson as "the Black guy they were trying to make an angel out of," said he believed Peterson had a death wish and "was so dumb." Of Peterson's father, he said, "the next day, he wakes up with dollar signs in his eyes and George Floyd’s attorneys had already contacted him."
Zimmerman's son was a member of the Clark County Sheriff's Office and was present during the Peterson shooting, but he was not one of the deputies who fired a weapon.
In December 2021, the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct filed a statement of charges against Zimmerman for the comments, saying it had received dozens of complaints and a self-report from the judge. It said it had probable cause to believe Zimmerman violated the Code of Judicial Conduct by making comments "that displayed racial bias, indicated a lack of impartiality, and implied that he had a personal channel of communication with the Sheriff’s Department regarding pending and impending cases."
By that time, Zimmerman had already stepped away from the bench and retired from the court, but the ethics case remained open.
On Sept. 8, the commission issued an order granting a motion to dismiss the case due to Zimmerman's health. The commission noted that Zimmerman is very unlikely to return to the bench, but the case could be revived if he were to seek judicial office.
While the order does not detail Zimmerman's health condition, the commission notes that hearings in the case have been stayed multiple times throughout 2022 and 2023 "due to medical necessity." The commission's own legal counsel filed the motion to dismiss, claiming that a hearing would pose serious risks to Zimmerman's health.
"The Commission would proceed to a fact-finding hearing if (Zimmerman) were physically able, and this Order of Dismissal Without Prejudice reserves to the Commission to refile the case should (he) become physically capable of participating in the hearing and seeks further judicial office, full-time, part-time, or pro tem," the order says. "While the Commission retains the jurisdiction and authority to proceed against a retired or former judge, the overall goal of the Commission to maintain confidence and integrity in the judicial system is adequately addressed by this disposition."
Peterson's family has sued the Clark County Sheriff's Office for his death, and that case remains ongoing. In response to a request for comment on the judicial commission's decision, the attorney for Peterson's family issued a brief statement:
"At this point the family is less concerned about ill-advised comments from a retired judge and more concerned about Clark County’s failure to take responsibility for the wrongful shooting of their son," said family attorney Mark Lindquist.
