Former Rohnert Park Officer Whose Crimes Were First Reported by RHBB Convicted on All Six Counts in Cannabis Theft Case
Officer Joe Huffaker was convicted today and Sgt. Jacy Tatum pled guilty in 2021 to crimes related to the 2017 illegal stop of Zeke Flatten.
A police officer, sworn to uphold the law, was found guilty of using his badge to impersonate a federal agent, pull over drivers on the highway, steal their cannabis and cash, and then fake the paperwork to cover it all up. In some cases, the drugs simply vanished. This wasn’t a one-off incident—it was a years-long scheme, carried out under the color of law, while the victims were left without recourse and the system looked the other way. Until now.
In a long-awaited decision, former Rohnert Park Public Safety Officer Joseph Huffaker was found guilty today on all six federal charges stemming from his role in the illegal seizure of cannabis and cash from drivers traveling through Northern California. The verdict marks a major milestone in a case first brought to light by Redheaded Blackbelt. Our persistent reporting, along with the passion of one of the victims, Zeke Flatten, and the efforts of a myriad of other reporters, law enforcement staff, attorneys, and victims, helped bring a sprawling corruption scandal to public attention and federal court.
Huffaker was convicted of six charges: conspiracy to commit extortion by using his badge as cover to steal, conspiracy to deprive individuals of their civil rights under color of law, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, two counts of falsifying records in a federal investigation, and filing a false tax return. The case centered on a scheme where Huffaker, along with another officer, impersonated federal agents and stopped drivers on Highway 101, seizing cannabis and cash without legal authority. Then they covered their tracks with falsified paperwork and never reported the income.
The case centers on a now-disbanded drug interdiction team that operated under the guise of official law enforcement while seizing cannabis and cash from unsuspecting motorists—several from Humboldt County—under false pretenses. Flatten, a Texas resident, was one such motorist. After being robbed in 2017 by officers who claimed to be federal agents, he refused to stay silent. Flatten worked closely with Redheaded Blackbelt to uncover what had occurred. In an interview today after the verdict, he told us
“I believe justice is served…I don’t think [Huffaker] has been held accountable for all of his crimes by any means, but he is definitely being held accountable for some of them.”
Flatten’s persistent efforts to alert the FBI, ATF, and press were instrumental in advancing the investigation, as were our early reports.
The reporting of our outlet caught the attention of federal authorities and other news organizations particularly that of reporter Suki Lewis of KQED. Her investigation on the situation went deep, describing hundreds of pounds of missing marijuana that had gone through the hands of the Rohnert Park police.
A recent piece by Lewis for KQED entitled, “Trial Begins for Ex-Rohnert Park Officer Accused of Seizing Marijuana From Drivers,” stands out as one of the most comprehensive overviews of the crimes to date.
While Huffaker stood trial, his former partner, ex-Sergeant Brendon “Jacy” Tatum, pled guilty in 2021 but has continued to face scrutiny (See this article about his involvement in an illegal marijuana grow last year) and has not yet been imprisoned. Flatten did not mince words when speaking about Tatum’s actions and motives.
“I don’t think Tatum is remorseful at all,” Flatten said. “He simply took a deal because he had his whole entire family wrapped up in it… He’s just sorry he got caught.”
Throughout the years-long process, Flatten endured personal risk and retaliation. He discovered a GPS tracker on his car, received anonymous threats, and found his home broken into with a message scrawled on the wall. These events, he said, only convinced him further that he was targeting the right individuals.
“You don’t get those types of threats and intimidation if you’re not on target,” Flatten said. “it’s just indicators that we were looking at the right people that were responsible, that were behind my stop and trying to frame me…again.”
Even in recent weeks leading up to the current trial, Flatten faced harassment. A private investigator hired by Huffaker’s defense team was caught on camera accessing Flatten’s mailbox without permission—a federal offense—and later submitted what Flatten describes as a false account to federal court.
I plan to…take some actions on that, whether they just be administrative actions with the different bars and agencies that license those individuals…and also the US Postal Inspector…I may also file a…small claims litigation against them for those violations.
While today’s conviction marks a critical moment of accountability, Flatten believes the whole story wasn’t told. He told us that one of the officers that stopped him still hasn’t been identified publicly or charged.
I think that’s been….purposely held back or…concealed, because it opens them up to a…much larger conspiracy than…just Huffaker and Tatum.
Earlier Chapters:
- Former Undercover Officer Involved in Developing Cannabis Products Accuses Hopland Tribal Police Chief of Theft, Corruption, and Civil Rights Violations
- Outraged: One Man’s Two Month Quest From the FBI to the ATF to Expose What He Says Are Corrupt Police Officers in Mendocino County
- Rohnert Park Police Officers Being Investigated Following Two Incidents Where Humboldt County Cannabis Was Seized Under Suspicious Circumstances
- ‘Highway Robbery’: Drivers Allege Rohnert Park Police Illegally Seized Cannabis, Cash
- What Happened to 800 Pounds of Marijuana Seized by Rohnert Park Police?
- City of Rohnert Park Hires Police Practices Expert to Address Corruption Allegations
- Former Rohnert Park Police Sergeant Faces Credibility Questions as He Testifies in Court This Week
- Rohnert Park Police Officer Accused of Misconduct in Case Involving Pounds of Humboldt County Marijuana Agrees to Resign for $75,000
- City of Rohnert Park Settles for $415,000 in Lawsuit Alleging Its Officers Stole Cannabis From Travelers Just After a Second Suit Alleging More Corruption Was Filed
- Another Settlement in Case First Reported Here of Rohnert Park Officers Illegally Seizing Cash and Cannabis
- Two Rohnert Park Police Officers Named in the Case Involving Theft of Humboldt County Marijuana Indicted in Federal Court This Morning
- US Attorney’s Office Brings Charges Against Two Rohnert Park Police Officers in Story We Broke Here
- Former Sergeant and Head of a Drug Interdiction Team Pleads Guilty to Charges Resulting From Law Enforcement Officers Stealing Humboldt CO. Cannabis
- Lawsuit Alleges Members of CDFW and Mendocino County Sheriff’s Dept Conspired to Steal Marijuana, Guns, and Cash
- Cash, Guns and Cannabis Highlighted in Civil Case Amended Against Top Law Enforcement Officials in Mendocino County Last Week
- Five Years Ago This Month, Police Officers Robbed a Texas Man in Mendocino County; One Suspect Now Faces New Charges
- Two Officers Outed on This Website Now on California’s POST Decertification List
- Ex-Cop Convicted of Seizing Marijuana Illegally Faces Few Consequences for Secret Cannabis Grow, Reports KQED
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Nothing worse than a bad cop. Right up there with child molesters …….
Anyone who violates a position of trust for their gratification.
Child molesters are only rivaled by rapists for the life long damage they inflict — there’s no comparison with someone losing their weed.
It’s not about someone losing their weed it’s about the trust and power the cop was given. How many lives did he ruin? I guarantee this is only what he got caught at not all he did. If he did this what else did he do we don’t know about
I guess if I have to explain it to you, you wouldn’t understand.
I am actually pro law enforcement but, this is a big but, law enforcement needs to be held accountable when they do crap like this. There is zero excuses for this king of behavior from cops. Criminals I expect this from but cops……..
I don’t disagree with most of what you say — I’d be fine locking this color of authority crook away for life — but it trivializes the damage done by child molesters to compare it to a crooked cop — yes, it’s similar in that it’s a violation of trust but there’s no similarity in the impact on the victim — “if I have to explain it to you….”
There absolutely is a comparison in the impact on the victim.
Sorry you can’t comprehend that basic fact.
The comparison isn’t anything to do with the weed Mr. Police officer. The damage done due to loss of trust in all law enforcement officials & the court system is quite comparable to the damage done by molesters.
Not to mention that many in law enforcement commit sexual crimes. I’d bet my life that at least 50% of all officers have used their position to force women & or under aged girls to perform sexual acts in exchange for leniency.
Congrats to Zeke for seeing this through to justice and to Kym & staff for the excellent reporting allowing Zeke’s story to be amplified so it could not be ignored.
Agree, even with Zeke’s perseverance, without RHBB’s dogged pursuit of this case it’s very possible the truth would never have come out.
Here’s hoping Huffaker gets the max on all six counts.
Reply
Most likely it would be Zeke Flatten in jail right now if Kym hadn’t jumped in and exposed the criminal cops.
No, the criminal cops weren’t busting anyone — they were taking people’s weed and telling them to keep quiet — but Zeke was outraged enough he started complaining and Kym amplified his story ‘til it couldn’t be ignored.
agree
Amen. Points to RHBB (again!)
Yes!!! This is great news, a real feel good story. So many have gotten off with resignation and full benefits. Congrats to everyone involved who worked on this case and thank you Kym for keeping us updated on this case.
But what about the other conspirators…
Amazing that this followed through.
I still don’t believe Flatten’s original stories.
Great reporting.
You are kind of unbelieveable…so determined to hang onto your original assessment that even when one officer pled guilty and one was convicted in less than two hours after the jury retired to come to a verdict you still don’t believe the guy that exposed it all.
It appears that KQED did the exposing, and I now believe that the police were doing high level criminal activity, but, I already said that I don’t now and never did believe Flatten’s account…
I don’t care to review all the details over the last 7 years, but I do find it remarkable that a conviction has been made, and I doubt that the real crime that set this off, which was Mr Flatten transporting some amount of illegal material, will be addressed…
Obviously, there was a conspiracy, but no discussion of charges against the rest of the RP Police Department have been presented here…
Snitches get stitches Kym. Come on. Totally reasonable to consider this, while very good news he was caught, is certainly more rampant and that our LE needs systemic changes.
Terrible to think like that. We gotta set ourselves free from that TOXIC ASS CRAP!!! When your victimized or hurt the perp deserves what they get, what’s the point of laws if not enforced for ALL? We have a lot of work to do.
Hey PoM. I agree “Great reporting”!
That’s why I have recently pledged to donate $10 per month to RHBB in tribute to Kym’s 10 years of providing vital and consequential news / information to us!
JOIN ME IN MAKING A DONATION! A solid way to show Kym our appreciation!! (No doubt more funding will only make this site even better!!).
I agree!
Drop a Hundy on RHBB, at least once a year and when times are hard, like when a new server was needed…
I have been doing this for years.
The improvement in coverage is remarkable, and the dedication to consistent professionalism is laudable!
Thanks to all at RHBB, and Ms Kemp is still my hero, even when we don’t see things exactly the same.
Me, too. Good for you.
Andy Andy Andy… nobody wants to hear your biased opinions.
And why not? You’ve been around long enough to know that police can be corrupt. Don’t kid yourself. Those were the days of high prices, a few pounds off the books was easily converted into cash which was easily blended into the LEO’s income. In my own case, a neighbor was out to get me and traded off his domestic violence beef for the name of a big operator, a kingpin. So, yeah, any number of plants was a felony but all they got was 10 ounces and dozens of seedlings. No “Mr. Big.” So the 10 oz. (I saw the report and I knew what they got) became 10 lbs. all those seedling starts became hundreds of plants.
If you research the NOMEN, SOHUM history of LEO corruption, it’s pretty sordid and ickey. I always support honest LEOs that risk their safety for the public, but it ain’t necessarily so. The things that you liable to read on the police blotter, it ain’t necessarily so. If you find it comforting not to believe Flatten’s story, even though it has proved true, what else can anybody do or say? I also thank RHBB, so we can agree there.
I’ve known Zeke for 20 years. Ive come to know his middle name is “Fuck Around and Find Out”
Sincerely, IMack
Cops are only human but must be heald to a higher standard. A bad one can literally get away with murder. No one forces a person to become LE so they should expect this higher standard. Cases like this erode a cops most important defense, trust and respect. No amount of body armor can make up for that.
Yes and as a society we relinquish our civic duty around things like mental health, housing, truancy, domestic violence and so much else and leave to much of it for LE to deal with. Though honestly it is a standard for everyone to not go stealing from others…not that “High” of a standard unless someone is starving or whatever. And still, LE should expect a “higher standard because” they have so much power and weaponry. False charges later dropped can destroy lives by affecting housing, jobs etc.
Yes! Congratulations and GO KYM!
Great investigative journalism. Another den of corruption worth looking into might be the abatement program in Humboldt.
The investigation is clearly not over yet. Who was the second guy in the cop car with huffaker?
Can’t wait for the movie
There must be mention somewhere in previous articles. How did those “cops” know which cars to pull over? That they would have marijuana on board?
That is a good question! We have our suspicions but no way to prove anything.
Understand. Thanks for saying. I’ve been wondering that since the 1st article came out. Great detective work!!!
Without Zeke this guy would never have faced justice. He is a powerhouse.
But stumbled badly on Flatten II where he and his lawyer alleged a vast conspiracy but failed to offer any evidence to support their claims.
Nope. The judge ruled that since cannabis was federally illegal, that they had no standing. To my mind that’s roughly like telling the family of a murdered marijuana grower that because their family member was a grower, his death wasn’t really a murder. The second case — Flatten et al. v. Smith et al. — was dismissed not because of any failure to offer evidence of a conspiracy, but because the court ruled that marijuana’s federal illegality meant the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring a RICO claim.
Quoting the Ninth Circuit:
“In Shulman v. Kaplan, we held that plaintiffs whose claims arise from ‘harms to their cannabis businesses and related property’ lack statutory standing to sue under RICO because cannabis is illegal under federal law. … This case cannot be meaningfully differentiated from Shulman. … Accordingly, Shulman requires dismissal of Plaintiffs’ claims for lack of statutory standing.”
So the dismissal was a matter of legal precedent, not a failure to support the claims with evidence. The court didn’t say the conspiracy claims were baseless — only that, under current federal law, those harmed in cannabis-related activities can’t bring a RICO suit.
Yep. The 9th Circuit rejected the Appeal from the District Court of Northern California on a technicality but had they reached the merits of the case they would certainly have agreed with the highly respected Hon. Susan Ilston who was scathing in her dismissal of the case (First Amended Complaint – FAC) without leave to amend:
The Court concludes that the FAC fails to state a claim under RICO. As an initial matter, the FAC is larded with conclusory and speculative allegations that “are not entitled to the presumption of truth.”
***
“Second, aside from the pretextual traffic stop/extortion scheme allegedly perpetrated by Tatum and Huffaker (and allegedly, Smith – that allegation is discussed infra), the remainder of the conduct alleged in the FAC consists of facially legitimate law enforcement activities, and thus “a significant level of factual specificity is required to allow a court to infer reasonably that such conduct is plausibly part of a fraudulent scheme.”
***
Although the FAC is lengthy, when stripped of all of the conclusory and speculative allegations, it is lacking any factual specificity that would allow the Court to plausibly infer that the Mendocino County “zip-tie” program, the District Attorney’s restitution program, and the searches and seizures of cannabis by various law enforcement agencies were part of a criminal RICO scheme.
***
In sum, the FAC does not contain any plausible, non-conclusory, non-speculative allegations of criminal activity by either defendant or the Mendocino County alleged co-conspirators, much less a pattern of racketeering activity necessary for a RICO claim.
***
In sum, the Court concludes that the FAC fails to allege the elements of a RICO claim, and accordingly GRANTS defendants’ motions to dismiss.
***
In short, there was not a shred of evidence to support the sensational claims.
RHBB trumpeted the purely “conclusory and speculative allegations” when the case was filed, but was silent when Judge Ilston dismissed it for lacking “any factual specificity” to support the allegations.
Flatten had no evidence that any of what he originally claimed ever actually occurred…
He did uncover a conspiracy, and evidence of improper procedure…
This must be only the beginning of cleaning up Rohnert Park, but we shall see…
He had no evidence….and yet somehow two officers who tried to cover up what happened to him are now facing long prison sentences.
I acknowledge that the results are remarkable, but Flatten has been paid, and one of the officers was also paid to leave…
RP has not been held to account, but I suspect that will follow…
Zeke was paid by whom? What are you talking about?
Zeke was paid in the sense that he and 7 others sued RP civilly and settled for $2 million if I recall correctly.
https://www.kqed.org/news/11802870/rohnert-park-payouts-set-to-top-1-8-million-over-marijuana-and-cash-seizures
RP settled with Flatten for $415,000.
BTW, prior to late 2016, many criminals were involved in the Cannabis Business, but now, there’s no money in it anyway…
Bad people in law enforcement seem drawn to the North Coast, but we will see what kind of sentences these two knuckleheads get…
Why, how is that? You’re saying that they, out of the goodness of their loyal blue “brotherhood” , covered for him then suffered wrongly somehow? Covering up is a crime right? I haven’t read all the details ..Cliff Notes version?
No, I’m saying those two officers Huffaker and Tatum are guilty. But are also guilty of more. AND there were years of similar thefts by other officers also. I don’t have proof of it strong enough to stand up in a court of law but I believe it wholeheartedly. And if I had the time and money to pursue that avenue, I would. I believe the government is covering up the identity of at least one of the officers who robbed Zeke. And I believe there are several more that are still currently working who participated in similar thefts.
Absolutely right. But may I add that it was more than just several other officers.
This is how they all funded lavish toys & lifestyles.
I promised Farce that I would try to be nicer, but, honestly, you seem determined to not believe Flatten and insist that Flatten had no evidence, but the case went on anyway. Your reasoning strains credulity.
Yes, I didn’t cover a lot of this story that ideally I would have. I didn’t even mention the start of this recent trial because…small newsroom…not enough time. That’s my reality.
I think you’re misrepresenting what happened though. And the government is counting on most people doing the same.
The Ninth Circuit didn’t agree with Judge Ilston’s take that the claims were too speculative — they didn’t even address that. They affirmed dismissal on a narrow legal technicality: under federal law, cannabis is still illegal, so the plaintiffs didn’t have statutory standing to bring a RICO case, regardless of how well-supported their claims were.
Quoting directly from the Ninth Circuit:
So no, the Ninth didn’t echo Judge Ilston’s opinion — they sidestepped it entirely.
And I’ll say this plainly: what happened to Zeke and an untold number of other growers was unconscionable — in a country that wants people to respect law enforcement, we should expect more than silence when officers rob people at gunpoint. Only two officers have been held accountable, but by my count there are minimum four more who’ve faced no consequences despite multiple credible allegations that there were multiple officers who stole marijuana and cash and sold it across the country. And I don’t believe all of those officers were in Rohnert Park. I think there is credible evidence at least one was working as part of a federal task force.
Some of those officers got financially fat off those crimes.
The government’s decision to block further investigation by using federal illegality as a shield is — bullshit.
And if anyone wants to pretend that justice has been fully served and all the culprits caught? Then they deserve the country we get as a result. Unfortunately, the rest of us have to live here too.
That cleared up some of my questions
In the “Simple” (LOL) matter of me trying to understand if you think there more LE who are involved and not being held accountable though still confused cause what you are saying in your comment here seems in contradiction to prior comment::
”You are kind of unbelieveable…so determined to hang onto your original assessment that even when one officer pled guilty and one was convicted in less than two hours after the jury retired to come to a verdict you still don’t believe the guy that exposed it all.”
I’m expressing disbelief in POM’s lack of belief in Zeke’s story. I’m incredulous at his gripping tightly to his original assessment that Zeke was lying. Now even when two officers face prison terms (how often does that even happen!!) he is still pretending that Zeke made the story up.
We agree the 9th Circuit dismissed on a technicality but NO ONE has contradicted the scathing dismissal by Judge Ilston finding Flatten Il was devoid of ANY factual basis to support the conclusory and speculative allegations — in short there was NO EVIDENCE to support the allegations.
One judge did say that. Judges are human and capable of mistakes. I don’t know this one. And I haven’t had time to read all the evidence presented. But What I did read, seemed worthy to my not totally untrained eyes of going before a jury.
Kym said:
“But what I did read, seemed worthy to my not totally untrained eyes of going before a jury.”
What you read, and what you publicized, are “…conclusory and speculative allegations…lacking any factual specificity….”
What I call Flatten I had the cops stealing weed and threatening the victims to keep quiet.
By contrast Flatten II tried to build a case on a couple of high profile busts in broad daylight that were visible from the state highway — not the same m.o. at all.
Flatten II claims the cops made off with “tons” of marijuana they then sold on the black market — except the weed was chopped down (in August) and thrown in the back of a dump truck, all in plain view of numerous witnesses.
I lack your expertise but doesn’t throwing green weed in a pile on a hot August day negate it’s value?
It’s frustrating to know the two Rohnert Park cops are just the two who got caught out of a much larger number that have been ripping off growers for more than half a century.
But if you read the lawsuit again, try asking yourself what facts are included that support the statements being made — because with no facts there’s no case — and that’s exactly what the District Court said.
It’s very revealing that you think the 9th Circuit dismissed the case on a technicality to close off further investigation — really???
It’s only your ingrained dope grower bias that blocks you from admitting Flatten II fails to provide any evidence and instead leads you to think the 9th Circuit is part of a conspiracy to protect crooked cops.
Some loose ends:
1) It’s nuts, as POM does, to question Flatten’s account of how he was ripped off;
2) Flatten has conceded he wasn’t in compliance with weed regulations which makes it even more courageous that he came forward;
3) You, Kym, thinking “the government” is covering up for the other cop who was with Huffaker is misplaced — only Huffaker and the other cop know for sure — if Huffaker is to be cut any slack at sentencing it should only be in return for his cooperation in identifying and prosecuting his accomplice.
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” The Bard
Just like an iceberg, only about 10% of this crime is visible. And, just like the proverbial iceberg, the remaining crime will continue to rise up through the surface.
The good news is that the iceberg, and criminal activity, will eventually diminish to nothing as everything slowly rises to the surface.
The Rohnert Park Police are surely cleaning house and sweeping things under the carpet as we speak. Not necessarily a bad thing…
“Sweeping things under the carpet as we speak. Not necessarily a bad thing.”
Oh, Ern’, tell me you’re just sarcastic. That’s how we got President Trump.
Once again, Andy, you know damn well that the conspiracy was real because you were involved in it.
Yeah, you got me — the second cop with Huffaker wasn’t Bruce Smith like Flatten thinks — it was me — Smith was waiting for us back at COMMET headquarters — Huffaker and I gave the weed to Smith because he had the black market connections to sell it through a grower he was protecting — then we split the money like we always did — it was a real sweet deal until Flatten screwed it up!
Very reasonable.
Everyone in the business in Mendocino county knew about these guys & the others like them.
That zone was called “The Gauntlet” because so many had pounds stolen without being arrested. It was common knowledge amongst growers from Willits, Laytonville, Garberville, Redway… and so on.
Zeke was just the only person brave enough to push the issue.
Highway 101 was known colloquially as The Gauntlet. It was a numbers game; you pull over enough cars heading south and you’re bound to come across some pounds. This was before licensed distros; it was all medicine and the providers (in the hills around here) had to get it to the patients (many of them in the Bay Area and Southern California). Lots of ten packs in trucks whose drivers had desperately tried to wash the mud off of were passing through Sonoma county at any given time.
There will forever be something very comforting to me about hitting the Mendocino county line on my way back north. Like a zone of protection. Or a Pirate Bay lol.
Dirt color on your rig is always a clue to where you just came out of. Even one ridge to the next has it’s own shade of mud that a more knowledgeable person could figure out where you just came from, without needing a microscope or a testing lab.
Profiling plus pretext stops was the name of the game — honest cops turned in your weed and cash and took you to jail — crooks took your weed and cash and let you go — some felt lucky to skip jail and let it go at that.
We’ll never know how many were victimized by Tatum and Huffaker or how many other cops were playing the game.
We know it was hundreds if not thousands of victims & at least 2 dozen officers, and court officials.
Funny, I just commented a very similar comment about “the gauntlet”.
Absolutely true, everyone using the 101 corridor at the southern edge of Mendocino county was well aware of this situation & the crooked cops involved, from both Mendocino & Sonoma counties.
We knew who they were by name.
Looking for the common threads between those who were victimized, is, of course the first clue. No doubt Kym, Zeke and others are way ahead of us. And yeah. As Kym said, ‘hard to prove it’.
Back when this was happening it was pretty easy to profile weed hauling; New pick ups with camper shells and 30-something bros heading South. Big SUVs that still need a luggage box on top…. I have friends who got nabbed by these guys and never reported it. You have to go into court and say, “I was driving 300 pounds and got pulled over, can I get busted now?”
Lots of unreported for sure.
Yes, there were others who reached out to me but weren’t willing to go public because they weren’t just in the grey, they were totally illegal.
Anyone who drove that route regularly knows that dor several years these cops were pulling over dozens of cars every week & searching without probable cause.
Since it is the southern edge of Mendocino county they often found Marijuana, especially in the fall & early winter. There was literally hundreds of other victims of not just these two dirty pigs but of lots of their fellow officers.
Hundreds, if not thousands.
Sonoma county pull overs , often between Cloverdale and geyserville, rohnert park cops w/ the narcotics task force or something. Very professional , they would look under turkey bags for strain name. They would either rob you or take things with seizure notice. many people would not speak out even if “legal” or in the grey area. Lots of people /agencies complicit in this. Some perhaps unaware to what extent these “seizures” were cough cough lining the pockets of these folks. Old story
i speak from personal experience
Wow! Slow churning wheels of justice finally grind out a verdict, the bravery of the victim in the face of all the harassment was impressive I hope he sues them. Kudos to RHBB and Kym !
Good work Kym! You (all y’all!) deserve a victory lap!
I hope RHBB receives the recognition it deserves! Your passion and interest in justice, without favoritism, have paid off….. again, Kym! Many long time friends and admirers have seldom been more happy to know you!
Congratulations, Kym and all. Crusading journalism at its best!
This guy’s pretty well screwed for the rest of his life. Honest people will hate him for being a dirty cop. Dishonest people will hate him for being a cop.
Dishonest people don’t mind cops. But they hate dirty cops.
Kym…you are the only true and pure journalist left in Northern California…don’t stop, ever
Thank you—that’s incredibly kind of you to say, and I truly appreciate the support. But I’m definitely not the only one doing meaningful work in Northern California. There are many hardworking reporters out there doing their best to keep the public informed, often under tough conditions. Some of them I work with and some work in other news organizations. But I will say that I’m lucky to have such a supportive community backing me up.
“If you strike at the king, you must kill him” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
If you accuse a cop of anything you had better be able to convict him. Dirty cops have a way of getting even.
This is a good example of what journalism should be, Kudos to Kym and her fellow Journalists.
To be honest, I feared greatly for Kym when she took these cops on and I told her so. It took a lot of courage and determination to finally prevail.
As much grief as I must give her, I hope she knows how proud of her I am now, WOW!
Is “Dirty Cop” a pronoun?
Thanks, Ernie. I appreciate the praise—and the warning you gave me back then. You probably weren’t wrong to be worried.
EPD has retaliated for far far less than being exposed or questioned publicly. I was naive. They falsely charge a single no body and claim to have lost video then after a long time of resisting terrible plea deals charges get dropped and they’ll stalked my friend on FB; sending her creepy photos of a LE in a Halloween costume not anywhere near Halloween. She was selling something on FB and had she money for a lawyer (PD said “Judge will just believe the officers”..luckily PD was wrong!) she might have done something about it all. Also the statute of limitations is so short..two years i think and she spent one year trying to understand what happened and fight cause she hadn’t been in any legal trouble ever and was in her 50s at the time. No protections for whistle blowers.
Doxing will get you banned. And doxing children is extremely morally corrupt.
“Morally corrupt”….kinda describes the state of affairs in this country now. Or morally bankrupt. Morals being such a societal thing.
Highest possible thanks and cheers to Kym for breaking this story and Mr. Flatten for the courage to persevere in the face of such intimidation and harassment and all the rest who came down on the side of “truth, justice, and the American Way.” Who’s doing the movie? Let’s do a thread on casting suggestions.
With the collapse of American Democracy nationally, this story offers some hope locally. Too bad people had to suffer for justice, but ain’t that the damn way.
When will Kym report on the licensed operator in Himboldt who was attacked and destroyed by the Humboldt CSO in 2022? The Victim won the court case to quash the illegal search warrant, and now is moving to sue for $14 million for the damages done by HCSO.
kym ran with the HCSO press release from the illegal raid yet nada on the ongoing legal activity.
Don’t know about it. Anyone who has a story that they think we’d be interested in (and this sounds like one) should contact us at [email protected]
Congratulations to Kym and team! Not being sure how to google for federal prison terms anyone have any idea what the range is for a single count?
If he can afford it, a trump pardon awaits…
Good job! Now how about the guy who works and steals packages out of the Eureka mail sorting station? He used to rip off many packages when he worked Arcata, McKinleyville even Bayside stations…over many years. Big time thief….
Has anyone reported him to the Postal Inspectors?
Dopes growing and slinging dope led to these dopes getting caught stealing dope. Any dope can grow dope. Now dope ain’t worth shit.
Off to prison for this bum…He’ll spend his time in a Protective Custody Unit.
Rock & roll, Kym & company! Keep up the good work.
Soooo many other officers had involvement in the crimes these guys were part of. Officers from Mendocino & Sonoma county, most likely including a certain one time county Sheriff.
Soooo many people in law enforcement are criminals themselves. It is absolutely disgusting.
Well done, Kym!