Round Valley residents have reported a marked increase in Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office deputies and California Highway Patrol officers over the last week pulling over residents for traffic violations and infractions. MCSO Public Information Officer Captain Greg Van Patten called operations a “focused patrol presence” meant to address and mitigate community reports of ‘lawlessness’ in the area.
Round Valley Resident Alyssa Patereau said she has seen multiple Sheriff deputies and CHP officers and “it seemed like every turn they had somebody pulled over.” She decided to “stay home because it was like everywhere I went there were so many cops.”
Patereau described the extent of law enforcement’s presence in Covelo saying, “At one point last night they got somebody at the school, just up the road from the school, and at the gas station in town all at the same time.”
Another Round Valley resident told us she believes the law enforcement presence is “due to all of the complaints.”
Captain Van Patten said yesterday’s focused patrol was the second “in as many weeks.” MCSO is conducting the operations in response to community reports of what Van Patten called “lawlessness” including, “speeding, reckless driving, discharging of firearms (reported sounds), vandalism, theft, unlawful firearms, possession, drug-related situation, and acts of violence against persons
Captain Van Patten characterized the operations as “successful” and hoped that “there will be a long-term impact to decreasing those community problems.”
