CLMP Meets with Humboldt County
Drug Enforcement Unit
The Civil Liberties Monitoring Project (CLMP), a non-profit organization focused on documenting and educating on civil rights issues and abuses in Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino Counties, recently met with local community members and Wayne Hanson, the lead deputy of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department (HCSD) marijuana eradication team, now known as the Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) and Deputy Mike Downey from the Garberville Sheriff's substation who helped arrange the meeting.
The focus of our meeting were concerns of the community and CLMP regarding problems associated with the summer time helicopter and ground troop activities in the rural outlying areas of Humboldt County, most particularly here in the southern portion of the county where most of county's helicopter and ground troop activity is concentrated. The following list of requests was given to Sargent Hanson and many of the concerns were discussed.
The 'consent degree' mentioned in item #3, refers to the now expired federal consent decree which came about as a result of the 1980's court settlement from a lawsuit against county, state and federal officials, alleging a persistent pattern of civil rights violations and clearly established constitutional and statutory safeguards. The decree has specific provisions relating to helicopter and ground activities, including pre-raid requirements. The Humboldt Sheriff's Department have said that they will continue to abide by the 'consent degree' even though it has expired.
Medical marijuana was discussed. No clear guidelines were given. Deputy Hanson said that the district attorney had a draft on his desk regarding this issue. Previously it was understood that the D.A. had set a limit of 10 plants for a medical marijuana patient with the proper paper work. Sargent Hanson said that 10 plants or less is his present policy, that the officer would decide by looking at plants and predicting what they would produce, leaving how ever many plants the officer thinks will produce 2 pounds and taking the remaining plants. (In a more recent incident reported to CLMP, Sargent Hansen is reported to have taken all but two plants, predicting that 2 plants would produce 2 pounds.)
To: Humboldt County Sheriff's Department
From: The Civil Liberties Monitoring Project
We ask that all personnel involved with the marijuana eradication teams, in the air and on the ground, agree to:
1. Respect the rights and safety of all private citizens and abide by all laws, including
- a) California Penal Code 830.10; requiring uniformed peace officers to wear ID that clearly identifies him/her by name or badge number
- b) California Health and Safety Code 11362.5; by only confiscating or destroying marijuana known to be non medical
- c) Traffic laws (except when in hot pursuit)
- d) Endangered Species Act; by identifying known endangered species habitats and making plans to avoid disrupting or injuring them
2. Make public safety highest priority by;
- a) wearing regular uniforms with proper ID, so public can easily identify a police officer, as opposed to unidentifiable camo guys with guns
- b) having a Humboldt County Sheriff's Deputy in airborne helicopters
- c) prioritizing safety of people, property and livestock, especially when flying helicopters in rural areas where homes exist, where horses and other domestic animals are located; where bird aviaries are known to exist and where schools are located, by keeping helicopters above 1500 feet when flying over these sensitive areas.
- d) Upon encountering private citizens in open fields, on roadways or when executing a warrant, officers;
- 1) identify themselves as police, with name and agency
- 2) not terrorize or endanger innocent private citizens with loaded weapons
3. Abide by the "Consent Decree", including to;
- a) not violate the constitutional rights of any citizen or unnecessarily inconvenience or disrupt the public
- b) locate all known structures and population centers along the flight paths
- c) plan and use flight paths over fewest possible private residences, not over towns, rural neighborhoods, schools, or any congested area
- d) have clearly identifiable numbers or marks on the helicopters
- e) not enter upon private property without a warrant, issued upon probable cause, unless exigent circumstances exist, or consent is given
4. Respect and abide by community fire safety needs by;
- a) being aware of extreme fire danger, carry fire suppression tools in all vehicles, including helicopters and ATVs
- b) not cutting any water lines, or disrupt and or drain any water sources or tanks
- c) not driving off roadways, over any dry grass, short or tall, with any vehicles including ATV's, during time of year when fire danger is high.
- d) not smoking in vehicles, on the roadways or in the field
5. Allow citizen observers by not limiting reasonable access, visual or physical, to an operational site or roadway unless a citizen interferes with safe and effective law enforcement.
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