New Humboldt County Sheriff’s Lieutenant, Jesse Taylor, Overseeing SoHum

Jesse Taylor

Jesse Taylor getting his lieutenant’s badge. [Photo from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office]

The newest Humboldt County Sheriff’s lieutenant, Jesse Taylor, is not a stranger to Southern Humboldt. He was a sergeant there for several years.

“Lucky for me, SoHum is part of my area of responsibility,” Taylor told us. “I do anticipate and plan to be there often…I miss it down there. It is just gorgeous. I take my family down there on the weekends. It is a great blessing to be able to come back.”

Taylor will be based out of Eureka but will oversee the Southern Humboldt patrol operations. “There is a proposal for a new substation to go in,” he explained. If that happens, he says he is “hoping to get a work station there to where I am able to be there more often.”

But beyond being in Southern Humboldt himself, he will be directing those who do work in the area. “[I]t is my responsibility…to encourage my folks to engage with the community.” He says that there are already staff reaching out and participating with the community. “We have some young deputies that are trying to do that community response part of the job,” he explained, but he hopes to foster even more of an attitude of interacting with the residents of the Southern Humboldt area.

He acknowledged, “It is difficult with COVID to engage with people, but I still think it can be done. We can have those interactions and have them safely.”

He also pointed out that having enough deputies to cover all of Humboldt County is a perennial problem. “Always it seems like personnel staffing shortages plague the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office,” he told us. However, he says he will try to mitigate the issue. “I think we can do what we can to optimize staffing,” he explained. He said that he would be making “little tweaks” to rosters to get deputies in the field as much as possible.

Taylor moved from Southern Humboldt’s sergeant’s position to the Drug Task Force in 2018 and whether it was a coincidence or not, large busts of hard drugs became almost commonplace. However, he won’t be working with the DTF directly now. “One of the unfortunate realities is that I had to walk away from the Drug Task Force,” he explained. But he reassured the community, “No doubt they will perform at the same level without me.”

Besides overseeing Southern Humboldt, Taylor is now in charge of the Sheriff’s field training program. “We have 11 trainees right now,” he told us. “Our training program is very interesting. There is so much more training that you have to accomplish than people know. California peace officers are some of the most highly trained in the country. We are challenged with a lot of different requirements.”

He said that working in Southern Humboldt prepared him for an important part of today’s training program. “One of the big catch phrases is deescalation,” Taylor explained. “Rural deputies are the masters of deescalation. You are out there by yourself and you have to talk people down. Unlike those in cities, you don’t have 10 cops to back you up in minutes.”

Taylor says he’s looking forward to being part of the Southern Humboldt community as much as possible. He will be attending events and meetings on a regular basis. “I plan to spend as much time as I can out of the administration office.  I know how I am wired. I am not sitting at a desk any more than I have to. I want to improve the quality of life [in Southern Humboldt] and engage with the community which I missed.”

 

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9 Comments
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Fast Freddy
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Fast Freddy
3 years ago

Good luck. Garberville and Redway are absolute shitholes. We always make sure we have enough gas in order to not stop there when traveling. My kids need to see nihilism at it’s best, but one time was enough for now.

Camp out free
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Camp out free
3 years ago
Reply to  Fast Freddy

Actually beside crazy homelessness-camps and drug problems the towns of redway and garberville have been seeing some nice improvements .

Legallettuce
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Legallettuce
3 years ago
Reply to  Fast Freddy

We are thankful you will always have enough gas as well…….Blessings traveler.

Fast Freddy
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Fast Freddy
3 years ago
Reply to  Legallettuce

Thank you.

A friend
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A friend
3 years ago

Your Dad would have been so proud of you Jesse, he must be watching over you. Bless

Yeah,sure
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Yeah,sure
3 years ago

It would be cool if there were enough Highway Patrol units so the back roads could be patrolled regularly. Alderpoint Rd is an absolute shit show, I’m sure Briceland, Harris/Island Mt etc etc are also.

Martin
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Martin
3 years ago

The very best of luck to you Lt. Jesse Taylor. Watch your back and stay safe out there.

Brian Shapiro
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Brian Shapiro
3 years ago

I wish the Lt. Well and safety given the times saying positive things about the the sheriff’s dept will open me up for comments please remember we do need each other let’s show those folks up north that so hum is not a shithole.plenty of good folks here if you look work together close the divide. Thank you Brian s

Gimmie a break
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Gimmie a break
3 years ago

Best of luck to the new lieutenant! Let’s work together – SoHum needs you!