ROUND VALLEY UPDATE
Friday, June 2, 1995
by Nicholas Wilson
The manhunt for Bear Lincoln continues today, seven weeks after the triple
homicides on the Round Valley Reservation in northern California. The
Mendocino County Sheriff has named Lincoln as a suspect in the killing of
Deputy Bob Davis, and the case was featured in a controversial "reenactment"
on TV's America's Most Wanted program.
The police story keeps changing as to what happened on Little Valley Road
where deputies killed Leonard "Acorn" Peters and an unseen assailant shot
and killed Deputy Bob Davis. This is consistent with some people's belief
that the Sheriff's Department has been putting out a false cover story to
cover their mistaken and wrongful killing of Acorn, who was innocent of any
crime.
The "America's Most Wanted" TV show broadcast nationally May 27 presented a
new version of events which contradicted the sheriff's line of the previous
six weeks. Sheriff Jim Tuso told the local press afterward that the AMW
version was correct, and that the local press had it wrong. Your
correspondent has read the official police reports of the incidents filed
with the court to support an arrest warrant for Bear Lincoln. The police
reports do not agree with the TV version, which the sheriff now says is correct.
Now even the conservative Ukiah Daily Journal, which has reported the
Sheriff's line from the very first, has begun to doubt whether the cops have
been telling the truth. In an editorial published May 31 the editor
criticized the sheriff for not leveling with the public. The text of the
editorial is attached at the end of this message.
At a meeting May 31, the Round Valley Tribal Council unanimously voted for
resolutions calling for independent investigations into the killing of
Leonard Peters and of police abuses against Native American people in the
manhunt for Bear Lincoln. Jonathan Hill, a criminal investigator with the
Jackson Rancheria Tribal Police under the B.I.A., will investigate the
charges of police misconduct.
A civil rights lawsuit against Mendocino County law enforcement is getting
under way. Seasoned civil rights attorney Dennis Cunningham from San
Francisco traveled to Round Valley May 28 to meet with residents, and said
he is willing to take on the case. Over 40 sworn written statements about
police misconduct have been gathered, with more to be added.
A wrongful death lawsuit against the county for the killing of Leonard
Peters has been started by his family. Sacramento attorney Carlos Alcala is
handling that case.
Contributions are urgently needed to help pay for costs of investigation and
for phone and legal expenses. Checks may be made out to Red Alliances
Defense Fund, and mailed c/o Pat Lincoln, P.O. Box 593, Covelo CA 95428.
The Ukiah Daily Journal editorial follows:
Different Versions of the Same Story
Editorial, May 31, 1995
Ukiah Daily Journal
Ukiah, Mendocino County, California
We're sure a lot of county residents tuned in to "America's Most
Wanted" Saturday night.
One segment in the program spotlighted the April shooting deaths of
three county residents, including Deputy Bob Davis. Everyone in the
Journal newsroom certainly tuned in to watch the program. But
something was amiss. The account depicted in the program differed from
the account all the local media have reported this past month.
We were under the impression Bear Lincoln, the prime suspect in
Davis' murder, was hidden in bushes while Davis and another deputy
engaged Leonard Peters in a gunfight. Then, as Peters lay mortally
wounded, Lincoln fired at Davis, killing him.
What emerged in "America's Most Wanted" was this version: Two men,
Peters to the front and Lincoln to the rear, walked upon a patrol car.
Deputies ordered the two men to drop their weapons, upon which Lincoln
fired the first shot and, after Peters was wounded, the last shots that
killed Davis.
We asked Sheriff Jim Tuso about the discrepancy. His response was
that the news media got the story wrong and that the correct version was
depicted by the TV program.
That's disturbing to us. First, the version we've dutifully
reported was provided by law enforcement in the first place.
Second, if it was wrong, why didn't Tuso and his deputies notify
us to correct the record? Our reporters are in contact with senior
sheriff's office officials virtually every day; It's not like there
weren't opportunities.
Law enforcement officials have been very quiet about many details
about the Covelo shootings, and that's to be expected. This is, after
all, a murder investigation, and a suspect is still at large.
But then the officials go on to say that they shared a good deal
of previously secret information with the TV people who produced the
"America's Most Wanted" episode.
It's quite certain local law enforcement officials are more
willing to share information with a national TV audience than they are
with their own neighbors.
Perhaps its the bright lights and glitter of Hollywood that spun
their heads. Perhaps Tuso's head was spinning with the chance to appear
on TV.
We are, after all, a group of humble country dailies and weeklies,
and small TV and radio stations, who can't compete with the national
spotlight.
But the fact is, Lincoln is a fugitive in this county, not
somewhere else. The people who have answers to his whereabouts are here.
Since we gave Tuso the opportunity to comment about this situation
Tuesday, we're taking our turn now. If there has been misinformation in
this tragic chain of events, it is the fault of law enforcement, not the
reporters who have diligently tried to cover it.
We mourn this tragedy like the rest of the county. Nerves are
tense, emotions are raw. But that cannot justify the subterfuge that law
enforcement is apparently so willing to employ.
With so many allegations of civil rights abuses resulting from the
search for Bear Lincoln, and so many discrepancies about what happened
that April night, it's time for Tuso, his department and the Sonoma
County Sheriff's Department to come clean, and share what they know with
the public that they serve.
And that public is not a national TV audience.