Overview

• A federal jury in San Francisco found Joseph Huffaker guilty on six counts, including conspiracy to commit extortion, impersonating a federal officer and falsifying records in a federal investigation.
• Prosecutors showed that Huffaker and fellow officer Brendan Jacy Tatum stopped motorists on Highway 101 in December 2017, falsely claiming to be ATF agents and seizing 23 pounds of marijuana.
• The officers fabricated an incident report to conceal the unlawful December 18 stop and forwarded the false document to an FBI agent who had received a February 2018 complaint.
• Huffaker remains free on bond and faces up to 20 years in prison plus fines when he is sentenced on October 15 before Judge Maxine Chesney.
• Tatum pleaded guilty in December 2021 and is due to be sentenced on September 3, and the City of Rohnert Park paid $1.5 million in 2020 to settle related lawsuits.