We’ve received a few emails lately from readers asking why they’re seeing Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Petaluma police stopping motorists along Highway 101 from Windsor north of Cloverdale. For example, JD wrote in:

“I am a courier for a pharmacy and have seen Santa Rosa police squad cars pulling vehicles over the past few weeks on 101 well north of Santa Rosa. Would you have any insight as to why they are that far away from Santa Rosa? Are the perhaps part of a training situation? Just very odd seeing them that far from their territory. I have always seen sheriff vehicles enforcing the rules of the road, but rarely have I seen city vehicles on state highways especially away from the city they represent.”

Asked about the traffic stops, a Santa Rosa police official paused for a bit before saying, “I can’t talk about it.”

Well, then, who’s in charge of the operation?

“I can’t tell you, and they’re not going to talk to you about it.”

Another Santa Rosa police official also declined to discuss the operation, saying it was “sensitive.”

But another law enforcement source said several Sonoma County agencies are participating in an anti-drug task force. Sheriff’s deputies for years on north 101 have been stopping vehicles that they suspect are being used to transport marijuana. Those stops often are successful. Now it appears other agencies are joining in.

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