Pubdate: Sat, 01 Feb 2014
Source: Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)
Copyright: 2014 Times-Standard
Contact: http://www.times-standard.com/writeus
Website: http://www.times-standard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1051
Author: Lorna Rodriguez

FORMER ARCATA POLICE OFFICER ALLEGES DEPARTMENT SET DRUG, MONEY 
QUOTAS; DECLARATION PART OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWSUIT

A former Arcata police officer is alleging that the department agreed 
to take officers out for dinner and drinks if they met a quota for 
seized marijuana plants and cash from drug busts.

In a declaration, Kevin Stonebarger, who resigned from the department 
last year due to a career-ending knee injury, claims Sgt. Todd 
Dokweiler agreed to buy the entire Special Services Unit dinner and 
drinks if they seized 10,000 marijuana plants, and at least $150,000 
in forfeitable assets from marijuana growers in 2011.

Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman and City Manager Randy Mendosa said 
they are unable to comment on pending litigation.

Attorney Nancy Delaney, who is representing the city, said the city 
is satisfied that the officers acted appropriately.

"There are things in the declaration that Mr. Stonebarger signed 
under penalty of perjury that are false. Period," Delaney said.

"Our policy is to try cases in the courtroom rather than media," Delaney said.

Stonebarger's declaration is part of a lawsuit filed by attorneys 
Peter Martin and Jeffrey Schwartz on behalf of Barbara Sage and her 
late husband Charles Sage against the city of Arcata and Sgt. Brian 
Hoffman. The suit alleges police officers conducted an unlawful 
search of their Zehndner Avenue home in 2011. Stonebarger alerted the 
attorneys to the alleged quotas after he left the department.

A motion for summary judgment hearing requested by the city was 
supposed to be held on Tuesday, but the date was vacated, Martin 
said. He said the case will likely proceed to trial at the end of 2014.

"One of our big issues in the case is that we want to establish that 
they need to respect the Compassionate Use Act," Martin said. "If 
they don't have any evidence that someone is violating the 
Compassionate Use Act, they can't do a search of somebody's house."

According to Martin, the Sages had a legal marijuana grow under 
Proposition 215 -- California's medical marijuana law -- that was 
raided by Arcata police searching for marijuana.

The lawsuit further alleges that officers, acting on an unlawful 
warrant, used excessive force and didn't make their intentions clear 
while looking for evidence of illegal marijuana cultivation that was 
never found.
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