Former Rohnert Park Officers Face Extortion, Conspiracy Charges

ROHNERT PARK, CA — Two former Rohnert Park police officers were indicted Friday in federal court for a years-long shakedown racket involving large amounts of drugs and cash, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.

Former officers Brendon Jacy Tatum, of Santa Rosa, and Joseph Huffaker, of Rohnert Park, are charged with conspiracy to commit extortion "under color of official right," with Tatum also facing charges of tax evasion and falsification of records in a federal investigation, officials with the FBI, IRS and the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.

Tatum was with the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety from 2003 until 2018, and Huffaker from 2012 until 2019.

The charges stem from the pair's time with Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety's drug interdiction team, on which they served at various times between 2015 and 2017, authorities said in documents unsealed Friday in the case.

Rohnert Park DPS operated the team from 2014 until 2017 for the purpose of seizing illegal drugs during traffic stops along U.S. Highway 101 between Cloverdale and Rohnert Park.

Tatum is accused of extorting at least $3,700 in cash and large amounts of marijuana while on duty by threatening to arrest the victim drivers if they did not consent to the seizures.
In some cases, prosecutors said, Tatum and other officers operated against policy because they did not report the seizures, did not submit the marijuana or cash as evidence and sought no destruction orders for the marijuana.

The undocumented seizures, however, were captured in audio and video footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras.

When Rohnert Park DPS terminated the team's operations in January 2017, undocumented stops and seizures continued, prosecutors said.

Tatum and Huffaker are accused of extorting marijuana from a driver during a traffic stop along the 101 on Dec. 5, 2017, nearly a year after operations were ceased. They claimed to be ATF agents and were not wearing their Rohnert Park DPS uniforms during the seizure that went undocumented, prosecutors said.

Tatum is accused of making a stop with another officer on Dec. 18, 2017, in which the driver was carrying 23 pounds of marijuana, packaged in one-pound bags, labeled by date and strain.

"That driver also had four crates of hash, all destined for a dispensary lab," prosecutors said. "Again, Tatum and the other officer were not in RPDPS uniforms and identified themselves as ATF agents when they told the driver they would either arrest him and seize the marijuana and hash, or the driver could agree to let them take the marijuana. Tatum and the officer took the marijuana."

It is alleged that in December 2018 when reports began to surface in the media about an FBI investigation of robberies along the 101 by purported law enforcement officers, Tatum drafted a press release and a false police report to cover his tracks.

Prosecutors also said Friday that during 2016, at the same time Tatum was suspected of extorting drivers for marijuana along the 101 freeway in Sonoma County, a total of $443,059 in cash was deposited to bank accounts in his and his wife's names. Tatum also used cash to buy a $46,000 fishing boat that year, yet none of the cash was reported on his taxes, prosecutors said.

It is alleged the cash deposits were all made in amounts under $10,000 and were not reported by Tatum on his 2016 taxes.

"The IRS enforces the nation’s tax laws, but also takes particular interest in cases where someone, like Tatum, allegedly deposits large amounts of cash below the Currency Transaction Reporting requirements to evade any filings by financial institutions and evade income taxes from the IRS,” said Michael Daniels, acting special agent in charge for IRS Criminal Investigation. "With both law enforcement and financial investigation expertise, our agents are uniquely qualified to follow these types of financial transactions. Today’s action shows the IRS is committed to pursuing justice for all including those who violate the public trust."

Tatum and Huffaker were scheduled to make an initial court appearance Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim in San Francisco.

If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and fines of up to $250,000 on the conspiracy charge.

Tatum faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years on the false records charge and five years on the tax evasion charge.

The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety cooperated fully with the FBI in its investigation, according to Craig Fair, FBI special agent in charge.

"The FBI has a solemn responsibility to investigate allegations of public corruption and the abuse of power by any public servant," Fair said. "There is no greater responsibility for law enforcement than to abide by the oath of office and respect the Constitutional rights of all people."

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.