SWAT team gearing up 
Law enforcement outside the 100 block of Coyote Valley Boulevard
Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office deputies and a multi-agency SWAT team are still engaged in a standoff with a potentially armed individual on the 100 block of Coyote Valley Boulevard located in the Coyote Valley Rancheria. Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall sees “time as our friend” as law enforcement attempts to negotiate and communicate with the suspect to peacefully end the standoff.
MCSO’s Public Information Officer Captain Greg Van Patten told us this morning at 6:21 deputies attempted to arrest an individual named Tiny Whipple for crimes associated with the manufacturing of firearms and other violent offenses. When they attempted to arrest him at a residence he is associated with on Coyote Valley Boulevard, Whipple hid in a shed in the backyard of the residence.
Captain Greg Van Patten told us that Whipple is a non-tribe member and was actually disbarred from the Coyote Valley Tribe in 2015
After locking himself in the shed, Captain Van Patten said deputies found themselves in a “compromised position,” retreated, and began “verbal negotiations to try to get him to peacefully surrender.” The multi-agency SWAT team responded and have been attempting to negotiate and communicate with Whipple since.
Sheriff Matt Kendall said during a situation like this, “time is our friend.” He explained that law enforcement has established a perimeter around Whipple and made it clear that the community is safe as negotiators continues to deescalate the situation. He told us that MCSO is collaborating with Behavioral Health and responding officers are working hard to end the standoff peacefully.
Sheriff Kendall told us the Coyote Valley Tribe has been “extremely helpful in this endeavor” and they have “always been a good partner.”
Scanner traffic from this morning provided insight into the potential danger presented during this situation. It was reported that in the last few days Whipple made statements like he “wants a shoot out with the cops” and that is “how we wants to go out.”
It was also reported over the scanner law enforcement on-site heard what was thought to be the sound of a magazine being inserted into a firearm.
UPDATE 5:08 p.m.: MCSO Captain Greg Van Patten said the standoff is over after the suspect peacefully surrendered.
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