New Lead Deputy for Humboldt Co. DEU
...by Bonnie Blackberry
There have been changes this year within the Humboldt County Marijuana Eradication Team, now known as the Drug Enforcement Unit. Steve Knight, who was lead deputy for the past couple of years, has left the team, and Wayne Hanson has stepped into that position. (Some people may remember that Officer Hanson was the officer applying pepper spray to the eyes of a passive young female forest activist at the Grizzly Creek blockade in October 1998.) Deputy Hanson has been involved in marijuana eradication in the past. Most notably he was one of the deputies mentioned in the 1993 rulings by Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Buffington involving the controversial "knock and talk" tactics used by the Humboldt Marijuana Eradication Team (MET).
CLMP will continue to monitor complaints associated with helicopter overflights and ground troop activities. Our monitoring is dependent on community call-ins to (707) 923-4646 to get reports of observations or complaints. We hope to establish a line of communication with Officer Hanson and his team, to relay community concerns regarding safety and respect for the rights of the people who live in areas impacted by the low flying helicopters and ground troops. We also hope to find out who to contact when a problem is occurring, such as when a low flying helicopter is causing safety problems for people or animals on the ground.
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