Clark County judge apologizes for Kevin Peterson Jr. comments, will take time off

Jerzy Shedlock, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.
·4 min read

Mar. 16—Clark County District Court Judge Darvin Zimmerman issued a statement Tuesday saying he's decided to take time off to reflect on comments he made last week critical of a Black man killed in a police shooting in Hazel Dell.

Zimmerman's earlier comments, inadvertently captured on video and broadcast online, have prompted condemnations from his fellow District Court judges, a decision by prosecutors to seek his removal from all of their criminal cases and a call from a prominent law firm for him to resign.

"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," Zimmerman said in a statement issued on his behalf by attorney Josephine C. Townsend.

The statement said Zimmerman deeply regrets his comments that have caused divisiveness and concern in the community.

"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," the statement said.

Townsend said that over the weekend, Zimmerman self-reported his statements to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, which has the power to investigate his comments and recommend that the Washington Supreme Court take action against him.

"We decided it would be best to be as proactive as possible in responding," she told The Columbian in a phone interview.

Both said Zimmerman will fully cooperate with the investigation.

"I want my colleagues and the public to know that I have accepted responsibility for my actions," Zimmerman's statement said.

Townsend said Zimmerman's case is on the commission's schedule, which meets every two months. The next meeting is April 23, she said. However, she was unsure if he self-reported in time for that meeting or if it will be addressed in June. Townsend said the commission will review any complaints filed against Zimmerman, as well as the video, and interview him.

In the meantime, his leave from the bench will be coordinated through District Court's presiding judge, Townsend said.

Zimmerman, whose comments with another court official were captured on video and viewable on YouTube for several hours, described Kevin Peterson Jr. as "the Black guy they were trying to make an angel out of," and said he believed Peterson had a death wish and "was so dumb."

The long-serving judge, whose son was on scene in the Oct. 29 shooting as a member of the Clark County Sheriff's Office but did not fire his weapon, also claimed that Peterson's father conceded to a police chaplain that the shooting was justified but, "the next day, he wakes up with dollar signs in his eyes and George Floyd's attorneys had already contacted him."

Zimmerman said his private remarks in the courtroom were him speaking as a father about his concerns over the five-month delay for the Peterson investigation to be completed, of a need for closure about the 21-year-old Black man's death, and the necessity for investigative information to be released publicly, "so that everyone, including the police get a fair evaluation of what happened."

He said his concerns as a father do not excuse the fact that the comments caused an already volatile community to again become divisive.

He noted his 35-year career on the bench, stating that he's long been a supporter of therapeutic programs that help the impoverished. He said he's promoted the Veteran's Court and Mental Health Court programs. Townsend said he was on a committee to bring in a pre-arrest diversion program.

"I am a staunch supporter of programs that provide alternatives to incarceration, which affect people of color and the impoverished," he said.

Zimmerman said the programs mentioned in his statement are meant to bring fair and equal justice to all races and genders.

Townsend said that Zimmerman has spoken at many conferences and brought millions of dollars into the county to fund therapeutic programs, and has helped refer litigants wanting to learn English to a Clark College program.

"He doesn't want the public to think that's the only version of him, because it isn't," Townsend said, referring to Zimmerman's recorded comments. "It's the other side of the version of him. To speak as an exasperated father, to want closure to an investigation that has taken a long time, it wasn't appropriate, he understands that; but at the same time, it's not the only version of him. He just wants that level of fairness as well."

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