The former head of the Rohnert Park Public Safety Department’s drug interdiction team pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges of conspiracy to commit extortion under “color of law,” falsifying records in a federal investigation and tax evasion. Ex-Sgt. Brendan “Jacy” Tatum and his former partner, Joseph Huffaker, were both indicted by a federal grand jury […]
Rohnert Park
Posted inNews
Former Rohnert Park Officers Face Charges in Alleged Shake Down of Drivers for Cash, Cannabis
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California unsealed charges today against two former Rohnert Park police officers suspected of conducting undocumented traffic stops to shake down drivers for cannabis and cash. According to a news release, Brendon Jacy Tatum and Joseph Huffaker are facing conspiracy to commit extortion under color of office […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Payouts in the Park
As the Journal went to press Feb. 25, the city of Rohnert Park was set to approve nearly $1.5 million in payments to settle multiple lawsuits alleging its police force conspired to steal cannabis and cash during illegal traffic stops. The settlements include $287,500 to be paid to Huedell Freeman, a cannabis farmer based in […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
A Reckoning in Rohnert Park
It seems something was very rotten in the city of Rohnert Park. Lawyers representing the city agreed Aug. 20 to pay a Texas man $415,000 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging that Rohnert Park police unlawfully seized 3 pounds of legal marijuana during a 2017 traffic stop outside city limits. The settlement came just a […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Brave New World
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit has been busy. Over the course of about a week, the unit reported serving a dozen search warrants in southern Humboldt County, resulting in the eradication of more than 46,000 cannabis plants and the destruction of more than 1,400 pounds of processed weed. Working with the California […]
Posted inNews
Records Missing for at Least 800 Pounds of Marijuana Seized by Rohnert Park Police
Documentation for the destruction of about 800 pounds of marijuana seized by Rohnert Park public safety officers in recent years is missing from court files, KQED has found, despite the officers writing in police reports that the court ordered the evidence destroyed. Rohnert Park has released 40 police reports involving traffic stops by former police […]
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‘Highway Robbery:’ Drivers Allege Rohnert Park Police Illegally Seized Cannabis, Cash
Huedell Freeman was heading south on U.S. Highway 101 through Cloverdale and was just over the Sonoma County line when he said a police squad car flipped a U-turn across a 25-foot grass median and pulled up behind him with lights flashing. Freeman said he was carrying 47 pounds of marijuana in his rental car […]
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‘Highway Robbery’: Drivers Allege Rohnert Park Police Illegally Seized Cannabis, Cash
This story was reported in collaboration with the North Coast Journal and independent reporter Kym Kemp. Huedell Freeman was heading south on Highway 101 through Cloverdale and was just over the Sonoma County line when he said a police squad car flipped a U-Turn across a 25-foot grass median and pulled up behind him with […]