UPDATE, July 4, 11:25 a.m.:

On Monday morning, Ramos took another stab at explaining his “apparent attempt at humor,” which he says was intended to spark conversation. (Mission accomplished!) He also says he used a gratuitously inflated dollar figure for the seized cannabis to “prove a point,” though he immediately adds that this “served no real objective.”

Eventually, Ramos apologizes for his actions:

In an effort to spark conversation about what is and is not important when discussing major hauls of illicit narcotics and its value, I have instead created controversy. 

My apparent attempt at humor was also not well received and offended members of this community, which was not my intent. 

For me, it was a challenge to the community to focus on the importance of eliminating large illegal marijuana cultivation sites and its negative effects on the land, its resources and the people. These sites are set up without tribal knowledge and in most instances, from outside groups that care nothing about the land and the damage they cause to the natural resources. The groups that typically create these sites are dangerous individuals that will do whatever is necessary to protect themselves from incarceration and the site from discovery. Members and Officers lives are inherently in danger when dealing with these groups. Luckily for us, there were no negative outcomes to officer safety in the discovery and destruction of this site. 

To use the dollar value of the number of plants destroyed to prove a point served no real objective. I believed the amount was so preposterous being that it was ten times the current value, that everyone would have seen there must have been some mistake, typographical error or other reason and not what transpired, which was, that for many, became the focus of the press release. 

I should know better and understand that police activity is one of the most watched and scrutinized of all professions. I should have realized that by knowingly inflating the value, it would become unnecessarily controversial. And by doing so, I have taken the focus away from the actual great job performed by the officers into something that is truly irrelevant, which is to bring the attention to myself. 

I am apologizing for my actions and for the negative effects it caused. I will ensure that future press releases maintain professionalism and with limited controversy. I have worked daily on being responsive, transparent and accountable to the public during my short time here. It is evident by the growth of the number of people that now follow this page, the numerous people that stop me on the street to talk about ways to improve policing and show their support, and the many members who have come by or called my office looking for advise, understanding, and help. 

This has become a reflection point.

I will continue to work harder to be the best leader I can be and to build the best police force possible for the Tribe and its people. It continues to be an honor to serve you and I ask for your continued support. Thank you.

The Hoopa Valley Tribal Police need your help in fighting crime. Please contact the police and report any suspicious individuals and activity by calling 530-625-4202.

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Original post:

PREVIOUSLY: 4,500 Pot Plants Found at Trespass Grow on Hoopa Valley Tribal Land

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New Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Chief Rolando Ramos released a statement today in response to a recent post on the department’s Facebook page that inaccurately claimed that officers destroyed $10.8 million worth of cannabis at an illegal grow site on tribal land last week.

The post resulted in a number of skeptical responses from commenters, prompting today’s statement. In his retraction, Ramos said that he intentionally used an inflated dollar amount for the approximately 4,500 plants to “test” the public’s reaction.

“The reason I did that was to test what the people saw as being most important,” Ramos said. “For the most part, the people of the Valley were happy to have us remove an illegal marijuana cultivation site, its criminal implications, as well as all of the environmental ramifications of these sites on the Valley.”

The chief went on to call this false information “obvious” and said that he based the inflated figure on a marijuana bust that occurred in Camden, New Jersey in 1997. However, it’s unclear why Ramos chose to base any information off the seemingly random, 25-year-old Camden case.

“There were also those that bantered and argued over the obvious overinflated value, which was humorous to see,” said. “It is apparent that there are a number of ‘marijuana experts’ in the Valley.”

Read the full statement From Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Chief Rolando Ramos:

This Monday, July 4, 2022, will be three months since I became Police Chief of the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police.  During these past three months, I have made a concerted effort to use the Facebook page as a means to be more interactive, responsive and transparent to the people of Hoopa Valley.

It has been a pleasure to see how much attention to the page has grown over these last few months.  It is impressive to see how many people support the police and want to see it succeed.  I want to thank you for your support.

I recently posted a press release about a marijuana cultivation site that was destroyed by the HVTP.  In it I used an overinflated value (even in this economy) of a pound of marijuana.  I used the value of a 1997 marijuana bust that occurred in Camden, NJ.

The reason I did that was to test what the people saw as being most important.  For the most part, the people of the Valley were happy to have us remove an illegal marijuana cultivation site, its criminal implications, as well as all of the environmental ramifications of these sites on the Valley.  These individuals understood how important it is to eradicate these sites to improve their overall quality of life.

But there were also those that bantered and argued over the obvious overinflated value, which was humorous to see.  It is apparent that there are a number of “marijuana experts” in the Valley.

I do ask that you continue to support the HVTP.  Please attend my next ZOOM meeting on July 6, 2022 at 6 pm. to discuss ways to continue improving the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police.

The Hoopa Valley Tribal Police need your help in fighting crime.  Please contact the police and report any suspicious individuals and activity by calling 530-625-4202.