Lakeport Police's access to law enforcement records system restored; county to file opposition to injunction

LAKEPORT, Calif. – After it was locked out of a shared law enforcement records system two months ago, on Wednesday the Lakeport Police Department was once again able access the system following a judge's order this week that the agency's access was to be temporarily restored.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said county of Lake Information Technology staff arrived at the police department on Wednesday morning to make sure he and his officers could access the records information management system, or RIMS, as they had been able to do before Sheriff Frank Rivero abruptly cut them off on April 23.

In May, the city of Lakeport filed suit against Rivero and the county of Lake, alleging breach of the long-running dispatch contract for Lakeport Police. The city also successfully moved to have the case moved out of Lake County.

At the case's first hearing on Monday in Mendocino County Superior Court in Ukiah, Judge Cindee Mayfield granted Lakeport Police a temporary restraining order against Rivero, and ordered him and the county to immediately restore Lakeport Police's access to RIMS ahead of a hearing set for Friday, Aug. 9, at which time there will be a hearing for a preliminary injunction.

Rivero faces contempt of court charges if he fails to comply, according to the court order, which Rasmussen called “pretty all-encompassing.”

The order was served on the deputy county counsels representing the county and Rivero on Monday afternoon, with the city receiving proof of service on Tuesday, Rasmussen said.

In a written statement issued by his office on Wednesday, Rivero called the judge's ruling “disappointing” but added, “I believe she could do little else, given the time constraints and the pretext of officer and public safety offered by Lakeport's attorney's. The amount of documentation was extraordinary; she simply did not have the time to review it all and draw conclusions on the merits.”

Rasmussen said it was made clear at the hearing that the purpose was to consider the temporary restraining order application alone, “not to argue the full case.”

He said the case documents were filed on Friday, June 28, with all of the documents given to the county at that point in order to be ready for the Monday hearing.

Rivero said he will comply with Judge Mayfield's order “while personally closely monitoring RIMS access by the Lakeport Police Department during the temporary court ordered re-instatement.”

County Counsel Anita Grant said she received formal notification on Wednesday that Rivero would comply with Judge Mayfield's order.

At the Monday hearing, Deputy County Counsel Shanda Harry represented the county, while Deputy County Counsel Lloyd Guintivano represented Rivero. Grant said her office has set up an ethical wall in order to represent Rivero in the case.

The County Counsel's Office did not provide a written response to Lakeport's filings for the Monday hearing, but rather responded in court with its verbal opposition, Grant said.

She said the county's position is that its dispatch contract with the city of Lakeport doesn't specifically include RIMS, the access to which is accomplished by virtue of an agreement between the law enforcement agencies.

That sharing of information was in effect until one side terminated it, said Grant, who added that the county believes that sharing agreement can be terminated at any time.

Rasmussen said that RIMS is integral to the dispatch contract. Information about Lakeport Police's calls is entered into the system, and without access to their own case information police have been hamstrung, he said.

Despite initially telling Rasmussen that the system lockout was a result of an auditing issue, Rivero – after Rasmussen went public with officer and community safety concerns – alleged abuses by Lakeport Police of the system, using that as his justification for cutting off access.

He has continued to make that allegation despite the District Attorney's Office's conclusion last week that there was no illegal or inappropriate access by Lakeport Police staff.

Rasmussen, who conducted his own internal affairs investigation into the allegations and found them unfounded, said there is nothing improper or illegal about law enforcement personnel accessing information in RIMS in the course of their duties. He said such information is necessary in efficiently carrying out their duties and serving citizens.

Rivero also has challenged Lakeport Police's assertions that community and officer safety were at risk due to the inability to access case information as efficiently and quickly as it has for years prior to having its access cut.

Rivero said he provided a workaround to allow “appropriate access” for Lakeport Police staff, and that they continued to have access to a multiagency RIMS interoperability agreement as well as direct access to offender information through direct radio contact with sheriff's Central Dispatch.

Rasmussen, however, said that workaround was “was completely inefficient to comply with the access that we previously had and we believe had been granted in conjunction with our contract for many, many years.”

With RIMS access being restored, Rasmussen said he and his staff have once again been able to do a number of things that are important to them in pursuing a full range of police services.

At a special Board of Supervisors meeting held on April 26 in response to the RIMS situation, Rivero was asked to restore Lakeport Police's access – which he refused to do – and also had indicated he would ask the California Attorney General's Office to audit RIMS, although the county's administration has received no indication he's done so.

In addition, he was asked to form a task force of stakeholders to discuss setting up rules for access. Rasmussen said he and his agency had hoped that would happen, and had welcomed the opportunity to sit down and work out protocols.

“It's definitely not an all or nothing proposition, because he controls that access and can fine-tune it,” said Rasmussen.

Rasmussen added, “We tried our best to make that happen, however, he never responded or was willing to meet with anybody as was requested by the Board of Supervisors.”

The city then moved forward with its suit against the county.

Grant said her office will be filing an opposition to the preliminary injunction Lakeport is seeking against the county and Rivero.

Rasmussen said he and the city respect the court and are looking forward to having the case decided in August.

Email Elizabeth Larson at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Sheriff's Narcotics Task Force eradicates several marijuana gardens around the county

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force spent several days last week investigating several smaller marijuana growing operations.

Lt. Steve Brooks said the majority of these growing operations were brought to the attention of the Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force by concerned citizens.

The grows that were investigated included the following, according to Brooks:

– On Wednesday, June 19, narcotics detectives eradicated 51 marijuana plants from a vacant land parcel in the area of Hwy 29 and Diener Drive in Lower Lake. This was the second consecutive year detectives eradicated from the same vacant parcel.

– On Thursday, June 20, narcotics detectives served a search warrant in the 9000 block of Meadow Drive in Cobb. They located two indoor marijuana grows where they eradicated 128 marijuana plants and seized approximately 15 pounds of processed marijuana.

– On Thursday, June 20, narcotics detectives eradicated 127 marijuana plants from a vacant land parcel. The parcel was located in the 21000 block of St. Helena Creek Road in Middletown.

– On Friday, June 28, narcotics detectives eradicated 120 marijuana plants from a parcel of land off of Highway 20, near the Double Eagle Ranch in Clearlake Oaks. Detectives reported that the house located on the parcel had been converted into an indoor marijuana growing operation. A commercial generator had been installed inside a room addition. Lake County Code Enforcement assisted the detectives and condemned the residence.

– On Tuesday, July 2, narcotics detectives eradicated 100 marijuana plants from three greenhouses located on a vacant parcel of land. The parcel was located in the area of Scotts Valley Road and the Glen Eden Trail.

The majority of illicit marijuana growing operations are located by aerial overflight missions, Brooks said.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force welcomes any information regarding marijuana cultivation on vacant land parcels.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

Judge grants Lakeport restraining order against sheriff, orders Lakeport Police RIMS access restored

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Mendocino County judge on Monday ordered the Lake County sheriff to immediately restore Lakeport Police's access to a records information system or face contempt of court charges.

Judge Cindee Mayfield granted the city of Lakeport a temporary restraining order against Sheriff Frank Rivero, who cut Lakeport Police's access to the records information management system, or RIMS, without warning on April 23, as Lake County News has reported.

The newly restored access is temporary; the two sides are due to return to court for a preliminary injunction hearing at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 9, at which time the judge will decide whether to extend the access.

If Rivero fails to restore access during that time, he could face contempt of court charges, according to the judge's ruling.

In May the city filed suit against the county and Rivero, alleging breach of the dispatch contract the Lakeport Police Department has with the county sheriff's office.

At the city's request, the case was moved out of county, with Mendocino County Superior Court taking it up.

The suit's first hearing was held Monday afternoon in Ukiah, with Deputy County Counsel Shanda Harry appearing on behalf of the county and Deputy County Counsel Lloyd Guintivano representing Rivero and the sheriff's office. Rivero also was present.

David Ruderman, a senior associate with the Colantuono & Levin, which the city hired to handle the lawsuit, was present on behalf of the city.

“What the judge did was grant temporary relief,” Ruderman told Lake County News after the 25-minute hearing.

The judge's order, he said, gives police the same access they had before the April 23 action by Rivero.

That access has been granted through Aug. 9, at which time the judge will hold a hearing for a preliminary injunction, he said.

“The judge will probably make a ruling from the bench on Aug. 9,” he said, adding that the judge also could take the matter under submission.

At that point, Ruderman said, the question will be if Lakeport Police will retain access to the records through the trial for the permanent injunction, which is the city's goal. That trial could be months out.

Police Chief Brad Rasmussen, who also was in court for the hearing, was glad of the outcome.

“I'm just pleased that the court believed that it's a serious issue,” he said.

Rasmussen said he's glad to have access restored temporarily in the interest of community and officer safety.

Rivero initially had told Rasmussen after cutting access that it was an auditing issue, but later after Rasmussen went public with officer and community safety concerns, Rivero came out with accusations that Lakeport Police officers had inappropriately accessed the shared records.

On April 29, Rasmussen asked District Attorney Don Anderson to investigate Rivero's allegations of misconduct and illegal use of the system.

Last week, Anderson released the results of his investigation, finding that Lakeport Police personnel had not violated any laws in using the system and that their use was consistent with what Rivero and the previous sheriff had allowed.

Separately, Rasmussen said he had concluded an internal affairs investigation that found no wrongdoing by the agency's officers.

Email Elizabeth Larson at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.