Family and community members rally behind incarcerated wildland firefighter who was involved in an altercation with a fellow firefighter and convicted in Josephine County last year

Supporters of imprisoned wildland firefighter Brian “Hakiym” Simpson and a defense attorney who represented him in court are sending an almost 3,000-signature petition and letter to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, urging her to exonerate the 42-year-old and have him released from prison.

Simpson, a Cincinnati, Ohio, native, was sentenced to nearly six years behind bars for what his backers say was an act of self-defense in a racially motivated attack by a fellow wildland firefighter last year in Josephine County.

The petition and letter encompasses input from community members, fellow firefighters and Simpson’s family. The father of four is currently incarcerated at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario in Eastern Oregon after being convicted last August in Josephine County Circuit Court for second-degree assault for his role in a June 17 fight with fellow firefighter Brandon Keith Olson.

Both Simpson, who is Black, and Olson testified during court that Olson threw the first punch that day, according to Simpson’s defense attorney, Eric Fournier.

Simpson and other witnesses said Olson had been acting abnormally in the week leading up to the altercation, and Fournier said toxicology reports presented at trial showed Olson had illicit drugs in his system at the time of the fight.

Fournier, who attended recent community response meetings hosted by the “Justice for Hakiym” campaign and BASE (Black Alliance and Social Empowerment of Southern Oregon) in Medford and Grants Pass, spoke to community members last Saturday and said a request for an Appellate Court appeal in Simpson’s case is underway but could take years.

Fournier said he supports efforts to seek clemency through the governor’s office and that he believes Simpson did not receive a fair trial.

June 17, 2024, altercation

Grayback Forestry wildland firefighting crews staying at Paradise Ranch firefighter housing in Merlin were on a recovery day between fires on June 17, 2024. 

Crews had gone hiking and bowling earlier in the day and Simpson, a career firefighter who had come from fighting fires in California two years prior, and his roommate, firefighter Calvin Lee, purchased meat to barbecue and share with others. Olson, who had been sleeping when the gathering began, woke up and approached the other firefighters. 

Lee said in a statement to an investigator that he had gone to bed but woke to the sound of arguing and returned to the gathering to witness Olson “in Simpson’s face.” Lee said Olson struck Simpson — who initially kept his hands behind his back — three times and used racial slurs before Simpson, who initially stepped away from Olson, punched Olson in the face in self-defense.

In a 911 call obtained by the Rogue Valley Times, Olson is heard asking for an ambulance to be sent. At one point during the 911 call, he tells the dispatcher he “got jumped,” after “asking this guy what fire he was going to.”

“They’re all gonna say I started a fight,” Olson told the dispatcher.

“I was upset because people kept slamming the door while I was sleeping, so I went outside. … I slammed a door because I was tired of it, and I asked who was going on fire and no one told me. … My jaw is broken. I’m f****d up. I can hardly talk.”

Olson, who has addresses listed in Gold Hill but also Phoenix, Arizona, could not be reached for comment.

Arrested and charged with assault

Immediately after the incident, Simpson contacted his squad boss to tell him what happened, as recounted in an online statement, and was told an investigation would be launched. 

Witnesses testified in court, and Olson confirmed, other firefighters broke up the fight and restrained Olson while Simpson drove away, though Olson, who was later fired, pursued Simpson on foot down a long driveway.

Fournier said he believed Simpson’s case to be a “fairly straightforward” instance of self-defense. After Simpson was found guilty by the Josephine County jury, Fournier filed for, and was denied, a motion for a new trial by Judge Pat Wolke. Fournier later notified the Appellate Court of Simpson’s wish to appeal his case.

Fournier told the Times that he believes the jury in Simpson’s trial had not been given proper instruction to determine whether someone acted in self-defense or how to determine the initial aggressor — Olson denied starting the fight despite throwing the first punch in the incident, the defense attorney noted.

Fournier said he believes Simpson had also not been tried before a jury of his peers — everyone on the jury was white — and told community members last Saturday that he made the mistake in representing Simpson of “believing that a Black man could get a fair trial in Josephine County.”

Olson, Fournier said, testified that he didn’t remember whether he used racial slurs but acknowledged he chased after Simpson when Simpson tried to leave.

Toxicology reports submitted during trial showed Olson had “illicit drugs in his system,” including fentanyl, other opiates and marijuana. 

A female witness who tried to diffuse the situation but asked to remain anonymous told investigators of Olson, “I felt that his behavior was odd and erratic… I would definitely say that he seemed as though he were looking for a fight.”

Olson was charged with trespass and stalking a woman in Medford months after the trial against Simpson, according to Jackson County Circuit Court records.

Fournier said he believed Simpson has a good chance for his case to be overturned but said court proceedings could drag on for years, and that clemency granted by Kotek is Simpson’s best bet. Simpson is currently working full-time while in prison, paying toward $34,453 in restitution to Olson, who suffered injuries to his face in the fight.

Eight months since trial

Since his sentencing, friends, fellow firefighters and various organizations — including the Springfield-Eugene office of the NAACP, the Oregon Remembrance Project and BASE — have stepped in to support a grassroots “Justice for Hakiym” campaign.

Vance Beach, founder and executive director for BASE, became emotional last Saturday when speaking to those who attended a meeting in Grants Pass. Beach said he believed that the case against Simpson underscores the inequality with which Black community members are often treated, which he said is “a true systemic issue.”

Beach said community support was crucial, noting, “the more BASE can do to continuously get this story out and have people understand it in the way it happened, the better.”

In a statement to Kotek, on behalf of the “Justice for Hakiym” campaign, Beach said Simpson had been “essentially criminalized for being the victim of a hate-fueled assault. Instead of being treated as a person who defended himself during a hate crime, he was unjustly cast as the perpetrator. The reversal of roles — punishing the Black victim while the white aggressor escapes consequences — is a travesty of justice that cannot be allowed to stand.”

Kotek’s office did not respond to multiple requests from the Times for comment on the campaign seeking clemency for Simpson.

Grayback Forestry officials did not respond to a request for comment from the Times.

The Eugene-Springfield chapter of the NAACP issued a formal letter stating, “Recent hate crime convictions in Oregon further illustrate the troubling disparity in sentencing compared to the mandatory minimums applied to cases like that of Brian Simpson. … The right to a fair trial, by a jury of one’s peers, is a cornerstone of the American legal system.”

The letter, signed by NAACP chapter president Desmond Hawkins and operations director Drae Charles, called for “a thorough review of the jury selection process and sentencing guidelines in Mr. Simpson’s case, as well as broader efforts to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system.”

Testimonial support from around the country

In addition to local supporters, statements of support have been made by the firefighting community, including 74 testimonials from firefighters around the country. 

Justin DeMoss, a firefighter on Instagram and director of operations for the nonprofit Hotshot Wellness, recently ran a marathon while wearing handcuffs to raise awareness of Simson’s case. Rise Up Artisan Bread, based in the Little Applegate Valley, inserted flyers for “Justice for Hakiym” inside 4,500 loaves of bread in recent months.

Kym McKandes, co-chair of the Racial Equity Liaison Committee, on behalf of BASE for the “Justice for Hakiym” campaign, said the charges, in and of themselves, did not fit the incident that occurred. 

McKandes said second-degree assault, defined by state statute, occurs when an individual intentionally or knowingly causes serious physical injury to another; intentionally or knowingly causes physical injury to another by means of a deadly or dangerous weapon; or recklessly causes serious physical injury to another by means of a deadly or dangerous weapon under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.

McKandes said none of the definitions apply in the case of Simpson defending himself. While Simpson likely had a knife in his pocket, like other firefighters, McKandes said, “it never came out.”

McKandes said he and others would “continue to fight and to raise awareness about the injustice that has been done.”

Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or buffy.pollock@rv-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.