DEPUTIZATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN 

THE HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE AND THE COUNTY OF HUMBOLDT 

The Hoopa Valley Tribe (hereinafter referred to as “Tribe”), a sovereign, federallyrecognized Indian Tribe, and the County of Humboldt, a political subdivision of the State of 

California (hereinafter referred to as “County”), and the Humboldt County Sheriff 

(hereinafter referred to as the “Sheriff”) enter into this Agreement effective on the last date 

upon which all parties hereto have executed this Agreement. 

FINDINGS: The Tribe, County and Sheriff find: 

1. That the safety and health of persons residing on the Hoopa Valley Indian 

Reservation are enhanced by close cooperation and continuous communication 

between the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police and the Sheriff’s Office; and, 

2. That the unique culture and history of the Tribe, the geographic remoteness of the 

Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, and the structure of Tribal and Federal Indian 

laws within the exterior boundaries of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, means 

that having Deputized Hoopa Valley Tribal Members (or non-members with an 

understanding of Tribe’s culture and history) assisting the Humboldt County 

Sheriff’s Office with its obligations pursuant to Public Law 280 on the Hoopa Valley 

Indian Reservation will enhance law enforcement services thereat; and. 

3. That, consistent with the important principles of Hoopa Tribal sovereignty and selfgovernance, it is the desire and the policy of the Tribe and the County, that the 

Tribe exercise authority over issues of public safety within the exterior boundaries of 

the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation; and 

4. Subject to budget constraints, the Sheriff’s goal is to allocate law enforcement 

resources on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in a manner which reflects the 

likelihood of crimes occurring at the hours and days disclosed by experiences 

obtained by the Sheriff; and 

5. This Agreement is desired by both parties in order to enhance the enforcement of 

state laws pursuant to Public Law 280. 

POLICIES: 

In light of the Findings herein, the Tribe and the County in concurrence with the Sheriff 

mutually agree to implement and abide by the following policies: 

1. HANDLING REQUESTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES 

In order to expedite law enforcement services within the exterior boundaries of the 

Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, the parties hereto agree that requests for law 

enforcement services received by the County and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s 

Office for those locations within the exterior boundaries of the Hoopa Valley Indian 

Reservation shall be handled as follows: 

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a. Those requests that require immediate response due to the emergency 

nature of the call for service shall be relayed by means of radio or telephonic 

communication to the on-duty deputized Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Officer or the 

Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Office. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s office shall, as 

time allows notify the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Office when a call for service has 

been relayed directly to an on-duty deputized Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Officer. 

b. Requests of a non-emergency nature may be relayed by means of radio or 

telephonic communication to the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Office. 

c. All requests will receive a response from the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police 

Office, or if it is not possible to so respond, the request in question shall be 

forwarded promptly to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s office with an explanation as to 

the nature of the inability to respond. 

2. DEPUTIZATION 

a. The Sheriff agrees, in compliance with California Penal Code Sections 830.6 

and 830.8, to deputize qualified Hoopa Tribal Police Officers who have successfully 

completed a standard background investigation acceptable to the Sheriff, and the 

training course for deputy sheriff officers prescribed by the California Commission 

on Peace Officer Standards and Training (hereinafter “P.O.S.T.”) or an equivalent 

federal training course recognized by P.O.S.T. as equivalent to P.O.S.T. 

requirements. Said deputization will not be unreasonably delayed. 

b. The Sheriff can withdraw deputization of any Hoopa Valley Tribal Police 

Officer at any time. 

c. The Tribe agrees to require deputized Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Officers to 

maintain the same in-service P.O.S.T. training requirements as Humboldt County 

Deputy Sheriffs. This already occurs in regards to range and defensive tactics 

Failure of any Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Officers to so comply will result in 

revocation of his/ her deputization. Proof of annual training will be forwarded to the 

Sheriff in a timely manner. 

3. CITIZEN COMPLAINTS 

The Tribe agrees to notify the Sheriff, in writing, within forty-eight (48) hours, of any 

citizen complaint made and/or any administrative personnel investigation initiated by 

the Tribe or the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Chief against a deputized officer 

enforcing state law. The Tribe further agrees that it will apprise the Sheriff of the 

nature of the complaint, the names and addresses of all complainants and 

witnesses, and what action is being undertaken. At the conclusion of the personnel 

investigation, the Sheriff will be notified, in writing, within forty-eight (48) hours, of 

the outcome and final disposition. 

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4. CULTURAL AND RACIAL DIVERSITY TRAINING 

Whenever practical, based upon budget constraints, Humboldt County Deputy 

Sheriffs will, before assignment to duties on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, 

complete a course of training in cultural and racial diversity substantially similar to 

that required by California State Penal Code § 13519.4 emphasizing Hoopa Tribal 

Culture. 

5. TRAINING 

The Tribe and the Sheriff mutually agree to offer each other, for deputized 

personnel only, law enforcement training, internal or external, and will make printed 

and electronic training materials accessible to deputized personnel. The Tribe and 

County will bear the cost of training their respective personnel. 

6. EQUIPMENT 

The Tribe and the County will submit to each other an inventory of their current 

equipment, available in the Hoopa area that is useful in inquiries, investigations and 

law enforcement actions undertaken by the Tribe or the County. The Tribe and the 

County will, on request, endeavor to make this equipment, excepting patrol 

vehicles, available to each other in a timely manner. Equipment damaged or lost 

during the time it is on loan will be replaced or the owner compensated in as prompt 

a manner as budget constraints will allow. 

7. REPORTS 

The Hoopa Valley Tribal Police and the Sheriff agree to comply with each other’s 

deadlines regarding timely submission of investigation, arrest and other reports so 

as long as deputization remains in effect. 

8. RECORDS 

The Tribe and the County will, subject to applicable laws regarding confidentiality 

and privacy, and subject to the Public Records Act and the Freedom of Information 

Act, allow access to, and disclosure of, law enforcement records in their possession 

and control to be used for identifying, apprehending, prosecuting, or suing, in civil 

court, individuals or companies reasonably believed to have violated civil or criminal 

laws of the Tribe, County, the State of California, or the United States. 

9. LINES OF COMMUNICATION 

a. Direct, timely communication between the Hoopa Tribal Police Chief and the 

Sheriff or the Sheriff’s designee (the “Sheriff’s Designee”) is vital to the success of 

this Agreement. The Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Chief and the Sheriff or the 

Sheriff’s Designee will communicate directly with each other at least once each 

month to avoid communication problems in going through bureaucratic channels. 

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Chief and Sheriff or Sheriff’s Designee communications will be a high response 

priority. 

b. There will be a communication during the first week of each month, between 

the Chief of the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police and the Sheriff or the Sheriff’s Designee 

to communicate the schedule for staffing coverage. 

10. INSURANCE 

Each party shall maintain insurance equivalent to Comprehensive or Commercial 

General Liability Insurance with coverage as broad as Insurance Services Office 

Commercial General Liability coverage (occurrence form CG 0001), in the amount 

of two-million-dollars ($2,000,000) per occurrence for police professional liability 

and/or personal injury, to cover any injuries and/or death resulting from officers 

executing their lawful duties. This insurance should extend to reserve officers and 

mutual aid agreements. 

Each party will ensure that an insurance certificate is issued for their policy 

containing an endorsement covering the other party, its officers, employees and 

agents as additional insureds for liability arising out of operations performed by, or 

on behalf of, the insuring party. The policy shall impose no special limitations on 

the scope of protection afforded the other party, its officers, agents and employees. 

Except as provided by law, sovereign immunity shall not be a bar to a recovery otherwise 

provided by such insurance. 

11. OFF-RESERVATION INQUIRY 

The Hoopa Valley Tribal Police are authorized to conduct inquiries relative to civil or 

criminal investigations off the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, in Humboldt 

County, after receiving approval from the on-duty supervisor or watch commander 

of the Sheriff’s Office. A request for off-reservation inquiries will be made by 

contacting the on-duty supervisor or watch commander. Approval for this request 

will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed by the Sheriff. The Hoopa Valley 

Tribal Police Officer will document the request, approval and the name of the 

supervisor/watch commander granting the request in the report. 

12. LIMITATION OF GRANT AUTHORITY 

The Tribe and County mutually agree that any authority granted under this 

Agreement is applicable only to law enforcement activity occurring within the 

geographical boundaries of Humboldt County and the Hoopa Valley Indian 

Reservation. 

13. CLETS 

a. Upon deputization and appropriate CLETS training, the Hoopa Valley Tribal 

Police, will be authorized to receive data from criminal information databases, 

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CLETS, and other computerized information systems. Receiving information from 

the aforementioned databases for activities under this Agreement will not be 

unreasonably delayed or withheld by the Sheriff’s Office. Moreover, “receive” will 

mean Hoopa Tribal Police are allowed to meaningfully receive the information from 

these databases under the same or similar circumstances as the Sheriff’s 

Department. 

b. Upon approval by the California Department of Justice authorizing Tribal 

Police access to CLETS, the Sheriff, as the CLETS County Control Agent, agrees to 

assist the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police in obtaining their own criminal information 

systems access and equipment. The Hoopa Valley Tribal Police will be responsible 

for infrastructure and access fees. 

14. NO THIRD PARTY BENEFICIARY 

This Agreement is not intended to, and will not be construed to, create any right on 

the part of any third party to bring action to enforce any of its terms. 

15. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY 

This Agreement is not intended nor will it be so interpreted to be a waiver of 

sovereign immunity of the Tribe, or their employees, officials and agents. Nothing in 

this Agreement subjects or limits the sovereign rights of the Tribe. 

16. EX PARTE YOUNG DOCTRINE 

Both parties agree the doctrine of Ex Parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 is applicable to this 

Agreement. The doctrine of Ex Parte Young generally allows suits against an 

official for prospective relief (such as injunctive or declaratory relief), but claims for 

retrospective relief (such as damages) are not permitted. The government entity 

may not be named as a defendant and only an individual officer in his/her official 

capacity may be sued for injunctive or declaratory relief. That individual officer must 

have a direct connection with the law or action a plaintiff is requesting injunctive or 

declaratory relief under. Where an obligation of this Agreement is that of the “the 

Tribe,” the Tribal Chairman will generally have the requisite direct connection with 

the action contemplated. 

17. CIVIL REMEDY 

Title 28 U.S.C. sec. 2671 et seq. and 25 CFR sec. 1000.270 et seq., more 

commonly known as the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) allows the district courts to 

have exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions on claims against the United States. The 

FTCA provides immunity from common law tort claims against tribal entities and 

individuals and has been expanded to cover activities such as providing law 

enforcement services under 25 U.S.C.A. § 2802. Any claims against Tribal 

employees while acting within the scope of their office or employment must be 

brought in accordance with the procedures of the FTCA. County agrees to 

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cooperate with the Tribe to enforce the procedures of the FTCA to the extent it is in 

the County’s power to do so and at the County’s expense. 

18. DISPUTES 

In recognition of the government-to-government relationship of the Tribe and the 

County, the parties will make their best efforts to resolve disputes that occur under 

this Agreement by good faith negotiations whenever possible. In the event either 

party believes that a violation of this Agreement has occurred, or is occurring, that 

party will provide written notice to the other party setting forth with specificity, the 

issues to be resolved. The Parties hereby establish a threshold requirement that 

disputes between the Tribe and the County first be subject to a process of meeting 

and conferring in good faith in order to foster a spirit of cooperation. Should the 

initial meeting and conferring fail to resolve the dispute, any issues regarding 

interpretation and enforcement of this Agreement will be attempted to be resolved 

through mediation. The mediation will consist of a mediator to be mutually agreed 

upon by the parties hereto, in concert with a representative of Humboldt County and 

a representative of the Tribe. Any dispute between the Tribe and the County 

relating to this Agreement not resolved by way of mediation will be brought in the 

United States District Court Northern District of California. By agreeing to this 

venue, the Tribe does not waive its sovereign immunity, or its right to raise 

sovereign immunity as a defense. 

19. TERM 

a. This Agreement will be in full force and effect for the tenure of the current 

Sheriff following execution hereof. This Agreement will be automatically renewed if 

the current Sheriff is re-elected, absent an express, written revocation by either the 

Tribe, or the County or the Sheriff, delivered via certified mail thirty (30) days before 

the Agreement is set to expire. 

b. In the event the current Sheriff is not re-elected, this Agreement will be 

renewed for a period of ninety (90) days only, provided that the Sheriff elect 

consents in writing to said ninety (90) day renewal. 

c. During the term of this Agreement the Tribe, or the County and the Sheriff 

will have the authority to revoke this Agreement. Any notice of intent to revoke 

under Section 20(b) of this Agreement must be express, in writing, and delivered via 

certified mail ninety (90) days prior to the date of revocation. During that ninety (90) 

day time frame both parties agree to meet and confer to discuss the issues 

surrounding the revocation in an attempt to resolve the issue. 

20. NOTICES 

Any notice provided for or concerning this Agreement, will be in writing and be 

deemed sufficiently given when sent by certified or registered mail to the respective 

address as set forth in this section: 

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If to the County: Humboldt County Sheriff 

826 Fourth Street 

Eureka, CA 95501 

If to the Tribe: Hoopa Valley Tribal Council 

P.O. Box 1348 

Hoopa, Ca 95546 

21. WAIVER 

The failure of either party to this Agreement to insist on the performance of any of 

the terms and conditions of this Agreement, or the waiver of any breach of any of 

the terms and conditions of this Agreement, will not be construed as thereafter 

waiving any such terms and conditions, but the same will continue and will remain in 

full force and effect as if no such forbearance or waiver has occurred. 

22. SEVERABILITY 

If any provision(s), or portion(s) thereof, in this Agreement is/are found to be invalid, 

the remaining provisions not invalidated will remain unaffected thereby. 

23. MODIFICATION OF AGREEMENT 

Any modification of this Agreement or additional obligation assumed by either party 

in connection with this Agreement, other than as set forth in Section 20(b) hereof, 

will be binding only if placed in writing and signed by each party or an authorized 

representative of each party, and attached hereto as if it was part of the original 

Agreement. 

24. PARAGRAPH HEADINGS 

The headings and captions of the various paragraphs to this Agreement are for 

convenience only, and will not limit, expand, or otherwise affect the construction or 

interpretation of this Agreement. 

25. GOOD FAITH 

Throughout the term of this Agreement, the parties agree to exercise good faith and 

to observe the covenants herein. The County and Tribe also agree to comply with 

all applicable laws. 

26. INTEGRATION 

This Agreement will constitute the entire Agreement between the parties and any 

prior understanding or representation of any kind preceding the date of this 

Agreement will not be binding upon either party except to the extent incorporated 

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into this Agreement. This Agreement will be construed pursuant to applicable 

Federal, State and Hoopa Valley Tribal laws. 

27. NUCLEAR FREE HUMBOLDT COUNTY ORDINANCE COMPLIANCE 

The Tribe certifies by its signature below that the Tribe is not a nuclear weapons 

contractor in that the Tribe is not knowingly or intentionally engaged in the research, 

development, production, or testing of nuclear warheads, nuclear weapons 

systems, or nuclear weapons components as defined by the Nuclear Free Humboldt 

County Ordinance. The Tribe agrees to notify County immediately if it becomes a 

nuclear weapons contractor as defined above. County may immediately terminate 

this Agreement if it determines that the foregoing certification is false, or if the Tribe 

becomes a nuclear weapons contractor. 

IN WITNESS THEREOF, this Agreement has been executed by and on behalf of the 

Hoopa Valley Tribal Council, Hoopa Tribal Police Department, the Humboldt County Board 

of Supervisors, and the Sheriff of Humboldt County as of the dates shown below. 

Dated:_______________________ ________________________________ 

Robert Kane, 

Chief of the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police

Dated:________________________ ________________________________ 

Leonard Masten, Jr. 

Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribal 

Council 

Dated:_______________________ ________________________________ 

MICHAEL T. DOWNEY, 

Sheriff of Humboldt County 

Dated:________________________ ________________________________ 

CLIFF CLENDENEN, 

Chairman of the Humboldt County Board of 

Supervisors 

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Exhibit A 

Hoopa Tribal Council Resolution 

[To be provided by Tribe] 

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nmc:10/25/12 

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