Round Valley Civil Rights Lawsuit
...by Bonnie Blackberry
The situation in Round Valley presently is rather tense. The jury in the Bear Lincoln trial acquitted him of murder charges. Mendocino County Sheriff Tuso is not happy about that and neither are many of his deputies. I have been hearing of an increase in reports of police harassment and abuses against various people in the valley, including a number of the plaintiffs in this lawsuit. There is a lot of frustration with attempts to register complaints and get responses or any change from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department (MCSD) regarding actions of its deputies in Round Valley. Everybody is hoping that this lawsuit will help draw attention to the police abuses which happened around the triple homicides back in April 1995, including the ultimate abuse of killing Leonard "Acorn" Peters, and the continuing problems which exist with law enforcement and the Native American people in Round Valley, in Mendocino County and elsewhere.
The civil rights suit (C-96-1297 FMS) is moving along through the discovery phase. In November '97, Dennis Cunningham, myself and four plantiffs from Round Valley attended the court ordered Early Neutral Evaluation conference, which went well. Since then there have been a couple of working meetings in Round Valley with supporters and plaintiffs, reviewing discovery responses, and getting prepared for the beginning of depositions, set to start February 10 in Ukiah, and the court-ordered Settlement Conference, set for February 18 in San Francisco.
I have been going through the discovery papers and looking at the responses from the CHP and MCSD regarding entry and searches of homes without warrants and vehicle stops and searches, detainments, questioning, arrests, and transporting of people out of Round Valley, taking them two hours away to Ukiah. It is going to be interesting to see what type of records are kept regarding this activity. So far it looks like the police may have policies which allow them to do "detainments" and warrantless searches without any type of report or documentation.
The plaintiffs in this lawsuit have no money. Attorney Dennis Cunningham needs any money we can find to pay for these upcoming depositions. (Money for legal costs is a big deal and how much money that is available for things like depositions will affect how much can be brought forward in obtaining police accountability and compliance with the laws and rights of the people the police are mandated to protect and serve.)
If you want to donate any money for legal costs for this lawsuit, please send it to Attorney Dennis Cunningham, 3163 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110, for the Round Valley Civil Rights Lawsuit.
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