How to resolve AdBlock issue? Clearlake City Council decides not to take action against sheriff over Brady finding, lack of cooperation
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Following a discussion at its Thursday evening meeting the Clearlake City Council decided against taking any action against the county’s sheriff because of the District Attorney’s Office finding that he lied about a 2008 nonfatal shooting or his refusal to work collaboratively with the city’s police department.
Councilman Joey Luiz had taken the discussion to the council about Sheriff Frank Rivero, asking his colleagues to consider taking similar action to that taken by the Board of Supervisors last week, which sent Rivero a letter asking for his resignation after giving the sheriff a unanimous no confidence vote.
Luiz, originally a supporter who had campaigned with Rivero, said the sheriff’s unwillingness to collaborate with the Clearlake Police Department and other agencies was making city residents less safe.
He said it was Rivero’s decision not to inform Clearlake Police of an undercover operation taking place in its jurisdiction on May 19, 2011. Police showed up to a Clearlake residence where they had received a report that a hostage situation was taking place. “Police officers had guns fixed on deputies,” Luiz said.
If Clearlake Police officers had not remained calm and collected, “We wouldn’t even be having this discussion right now,” said Luiz.
A critical issue for Luiz was District Attorney Don Anderson’s February finding that Rivero had lied about the 2008 shooting in which he shot at a man holding a can of pepper spray while working as a deputy sheriff.
As a result, Anderson placed Rivero on a “Brady” list of officers with credibility issues. “Brady” refers to the 1963 US Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland, which requires prosecutors to disclose to criminal defendants any evidence that could clear them, including information about the credibility of officers involved in their cases.
Luiz wanted the council to consider sending Rivero a letter similar to that sent by the supervisors, adding in specifics about how Rivero’s performance was causing Clearlake’s citizens to be less safe. Luiz had been at the March 19 board meeting to speak in favor of the board’s action against the sheriff.
Almost a quarter of the county’s residents live in the Clearlake city limits, “and he is doing a disservice to them,” Luiz said.
During public comment, Aqeela El-Amin Bakheit asked why Luiz was bringing up the matter now if he had had ongoing concerns.
“I’m upset about what he did, too, because I voted for him,” said Bakheit.
However, she said that since the Board of Supervisors has taken action a recall petition is now in the works, which she felt was the proper step. She asked if Luiz would have brought the matter forward if it had not been for the Brady finding or the no confidence vote.
Luiz said yes, he would have, and said he hoped the Lakeport City Council also would consider taking action, as all county jurisdictions needed to send Rivero a message that his behavior is not acceptable.
Luiz said he also was a supporter of Rivero’s in the beginning. “I was hoping he would do better,” he said, adding that it had become obvious that it wasn’t happening.
Bakheit asked if he felt there was any benefit to writing a letter. Luiz said he didn’t know if it would do any good, as he didn’t think Rivero would resign. However, he added that he felt it was his duty to bring the matter forward.
Linda Peralta Conway of Clearlake, who had attended the Board of Supervisors’ March 19 meeting, said she was embarrassed by what happened there and hoped she wouldn’t be embarrassed by the council.
“I expressed my opinion at the ballot box and I would hope you would do the same as well,” she said.
She acknowledged the issue was polarizing for the community, with the two sides at war. “It is one hell of a mess,” she said, with the county having a stigma attached to it. “I hope you take the high road.”
Pete Gascoigne also said the issue was polarizing the community. He applauded Luiz for bringing the matter forward, noting that the breakdown in communication between Clearlake Police and sheriff’s office “directly impacts each and every one of us.”
However, Gascoigne added that the matter is “going to get cleared up at the ballot box.”
Conrad Colbrandt said he didn’t see Rivero turning things around. He said he had read Anderson’s findings and understood why he made the determination on Rivero’s credibility.
Colbrandt also referenced controversies over a proposed Clearlake Oaks substation and the terminations of several sheriff’s office employees who later were reinstated by the supervisors.
Bruno Sabatier asked what the plan was going forward to deal with Rivero in matters like the 2011 undercover incident.
Luiz said there is a regular meeting of county law enforcement chiefs, but it takes place at the same time that Rivero has an appearance on a local radio show, so he hasn’t consistently attended the chiefs meetings. He said Rivero’s lack of cooperation is affecting other public safety operations as well.
When the discussion moved back to the council, the majority of members didn’t want to take action.
Councilmember Joyce Overton said the matter should be up to the people, and she didn’t want to tell people how to vote. “I think our community is smart enough to do the right thing.”
Luiz said he had confidence the community would do the right thing at the ballot box this time, but when someone disrupts the services the city is responsible for offering, “we need to make a statement, and that’s how I feel about it.”
Councilmember Gina Fortino Dickson said she wished it weren’t a problem. She said she had the utmost confidence in the Clearlake Police Department, and was proud of how they handled themselves in situations.
“I think we’re all faced with decisions everyday and we have to make those decisions with the best information we have at the time,” she said.
She said she didn’t know if Anderson or the Board of Supervisors had made right or wrong decisions about Rivero, but she felt it was unnecessary for the city to step in. “It is being addressed.”
Councilmember Denise Loustalot agreed with Overton and Fortino Dickson that the matter is being handled.
“I think we should watch how it plays out,” Loustalot said.
Mayor Jeri Spittler, who waited to go last, said it’s like a civil war is going on with regard to Rivero, who she has supported and who she spoke in defense of at the March 19 board meeting.
Spittler said she had been told that Rivero wasn’t welcome at Clearlake City Hall. She said she has had no negative dealings – or many dealings at all – with Rivero.
She alleged that law enforcement agencies are territorial, which has led to the issues with Rivero. Noting that she has relatives in law enforcement, Spittler added, “I understand the nature of the beast.”
Spittler said she wanted to tell the truth. “That’s why I would never support a decision like this, ever,” she said.
She added, “Why can’t we all just get along and do the right thing for our county.”
Luiz replied to Spittler, saying there was not an issue of agencies being territorial, explaining that he’s seen no evidence of that in his work with police.
He thanked the council for at least having the discussion. He said he had tried to facilitate cooperation between Clearlake Police and Rivero. “He had no interest.”
Luiz said to Spittler that she was clearly still a Rivero supporter. She told Luiz not to criticize her, and he said he wasn’t.
Whether she supported Rivero or not, “I spoke the truth as I see it,” said Spittler, adding that he could dissect it all he wanted.
“I do believe you didn’t get the consensus you were looking for so we’re going to move on,” Spittler said.
Fortino Dickson thanked community members for keeping the discussion professional and not turning it into a circus.
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Clearlake City Council to discuss sheriff, new city Web site
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council this week will hold a discussion about the county’s sheriff and consider awarding a bid for the building of a new city Web site.
The council will meet in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive, on Thursday, March 28.
A closed session will begin at 5:30 p.m. to discuss property negotiations regarding the possible acquisition of 14265 Lakeshore Drive, to be followed by the open session at 6 p.m.
Items on the meeting’s consent agenda – usually accepted as a slate on one vote – include review of the check disbursement list; receipt of the minutes for the Lake County Vector Control District’s Nov. 14, 2012, meeting; consideration of denial of a claim from Mathew Ashworth, seeking damages for an injury he sustained from a police K9 while allegedly resisting arrest; and consideration of proposed amendments to the League of California Cities bylaws.
Under council business, Councilman Joey Luiz will ask the council to discuss recent developments relating to Lake County Sheriff Frank Rivero.
Rivero, who took office in January 2011, received a vote of no confidence from the Board of Supervisors at its meeting on Tuesday, March 19.
That same day, following the unanimous vote, the board sent Rivero a letter asking for his resignation, which he has refused to tender.
The board based its decision on a number of issues with Rivero’s performance, but the chief matter is District Attorney Don Anderson’s finding that Rivero lied about his actions during a nonfatal February 2008 shooting.
Rivero, then a sheriff’s deputy, shot at a man holding pepper spray, a violation of department policy. He is alleged to have given different versions of what happened, with Anderson concluding that Rivero lied and must therefore be placed on a list of law enforcement officers with credibility issues.
Anderson’s placing of Rivero on the “Brady” list of officers is required as a result of the 1963 US Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland, which requires prosecutors to divulge to defendants in criminal cases any exculpatory evidence, including credibility issues of peace officers involved in their cases.
In other council business on Thursday, City Manager Joan Phillipe will present to the council a proposal to award the contract for building the city’s new Web site to CivicPlus, a company that has built sites for the cities of Cloverdale, Richmond, Placentia, Commerce, Hemet, Dublin, La Mesa and Huntington Park, and the county of Plumas.
CivicPlus is one of six firms that responded to a city request for proposals for the Web site construction, Phillipe reported. The city has not operated a Web site in several years.
The new site will cost $26,111 for construction based on CivicPlus’ bid. There will be an annual maintenance fee of $4,013, with CivicPlus redesigning the site at the end of four years for no additional fee, according to Phillipe’s report.
Also on Thursday’s agenda, Supervisor Jeff Smith will make a presentation on funding for the Highlands Park Visitor’s Center; Jackie Lisi, energy efficiency specialist for the Mendocino County Community Development Department, will give a presentation on the greenhouse gas inventory; and the council will consider a new version of an ordinance regulating taxi cabs and other for-hire vehicles in the city.
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Sheriff’s office investigates early Monday morning home invasion robbery
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that it’s investigating an early morning home invasion robbery that occurred in the Kelseyville area.
The incident was first reported at about 4 a.m. Monday, according to Capt. Chris Macedo.
He said deputies were dispatched to a rural Kelseyville residence for a report of a possible home invasion robbery.
The male victim called 911 to report that four males had entered his home with firearms, tied him up and took his marijuana, shotgun and a laptop computer, Macedo said.
The victim said that the suspects appeared to have been black male adults and were skinny in stature, wearing black-colored clothing with their jacket hoods pulled over their faces, and also wearing gloves. Macedo said it’s believed the suspects entered the home through an unlocked door.
After the suspects took the marijuana, shotgun, laptop computer and a wallet they left the residence in an unknown direction, Macedo said. The victim did not know if the suspects left on foot or drove away in a vehicle.
Macedo said the victim was not hurt in the incident.
This case remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information is asked to call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 707-263-2690.
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Martin announces candidacy for sheriff; calls for need to ‘move toward progress’
LAKEPORT, Calif. – As a recall of the county's sheriff gets under way, a law enforcement veteran came forward on Sunday to announce he would seek the sheriff's job in the recall election.
Brian Martin, a former sheriff's lieutenant currently serving as assistant chief of the Lake County Probation Department, made the announcement Sunday morning in front of an estimated 100 supporters at the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
“It's time to move beyond conflict and move toward progress,” Martin said.
Martin, 41, told the group that they had a “huge mess and an embarrassment to law enforcement and Lake County occupying the office of sheriff,” referring to Sheriff Frank Rivero, now 26 months into his first term, who Martin said has failed dismally as the county’s top law enforcement officer.
Standing before the sheriff's office sign in the bright morning sunshine, Martin emphasized the need for healing, leadership and a positive path forward.
While Martin pointed out numerous shortcomings in Rivero's leadership – including Rivero’s penchant for conflict, revenge and personal attacks – Martin himself said he intended to keep the campaign focused on the issues and wouldn't engage in the kind of character assassination that Rivero has employed.
Martin said he was committed to laying the foundation for the department’s success, which will go well beyond winning an election.
“Our success will come when we rebuild the relationship and reestablish trust between law enforcement in Lake County and the communities which we serve,” Martin said.
“This won’t be accomplished by vicious attacks, lies and vengeance. It will be accomplished by hard work, dedication and honesty,” said Martin, with applause erupting at the word “honesty.”
Rivero has been a disappointment and failure, Martin said. “I’m tired of paying for his intentional and reckless misconduct,” adding that he was prepared to work to repair the sheriff’s office’s reputation and relationships.
“The people of Lake County didn’t vote for rage, chaos, retaliation and incompetence,” Martin said. “We wanted, and still want, Lake County to be the great place it can be, a place we can be proud to call home.”
Martin, who had worked for the sheriff's office for several years by the time Rivero took office in January 2011, left the agency in August of that year due to concerns about Rivero's behavior and leadership.
“He was asking me to do things that were unethical and in conflict with the law,” and also violated the basic principles of leadership, Martin told Lake County News.
Since then, the sheriff's office has become a statewide embarrassment, said Martin.
Rivero was the focus of a lengthy District Attorney's Office investigation that ended with findings that he had lied about his actions during a nonfatal 2008 shooting.
As a result, Rivero has become the first sitting sheriff in the state's history to receive a “Brady” designation, which means the prosecution must disclose his credibility issues in any case in which he is a material witness.
For many law enforcement officers such a finding is career-ending, and Rivero himself in court filings seeking to stop the disclosure has said it would harm his ability to act as sheriff.
In addition, crime statistics recently released by the sheriff's office show that crime has been up during Rivero's tenure. Three employee terminations he carried out were reversed by the Board of Supervisors, with the staffers reinstated and given back pay, and he’s had an increasingly tense relationship with officials around Lake County and beyond.
The Brady finding led to Rivero receiving a unanimous no confidence vote from the Board of Supervisors at its meeting last Tuesday. At that time Rivero also was served with a notice of intent to circulate a recall petition by the newly formed Committee to Recall Rivero and Restore Integrity.
The group served Rivero with an identical petition on Friday to correct Rivero's title in the paperwork, as the original petition had left off his duty of coroner, a technicality they believed he would use to try to stop the action.
The group needed only 20 signatures to start the recall, but received nearly 40, among them Martin's signature, that of his wife Crystal, Clearlake City Councilman Joey Luiz and Mary Behrens, the mother of Forrest Seagrave, a Kelseyville man who died after being shot in a January armed robbery.
Behrens also was at Martin’s announcement. She and her family have faulted Rivero for his failure to communicate with them about the status of the Seagrave murder investigation. After she wrote a letter about her concerns to the newspaper Victim-Witness and a sheriff’s staffer – but not Rivero – contacted her, she said.
Rivero has seven days to respond to the notice, with the group then required to follow an intricate procedure that includes gathering just over 7,000 signatures in a 120-day period in order to place Rivero's recall on a ballot before county voters.
Martin is a 1989 graduate of Clear Lake High School who served in the U.S. Army for five years. In the Army he was a military police sergeant and paratrooper, receiving numerous commendations and awards.
After being honorably discharged Martin would go on to work at the Pismo Beach Police Department, was a special agent with the California Department of Justice and worked his way up to the rank of lieutenant in the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration with a concentration in criminal justice, has basic, intermediate, advanced and supervisory certificates from the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, with more than 1,900 hours of certified law enforcement training.
While with the sheriff’s office he helped bring the agency’s training program up to contemporary standards, implemented Nixle alerts – a community information service that he said was never intended to be the sheriff’s personal propaganda machine – and coordinated a program between the sheriff’s office and the Department of Veterans Affairs that allows military veterans to receive GI Bill benefits for on-the-job training while starting their careers at the sheriff’s office.
With Martin joining the race there are now two candidates to seek Rivero's job should the recall make it to the ballot.
Last summer, Bob Chalk, the city of Clearlake's retired police chief, said he planned to run for sheriff in the 2014 election.
Chalk has since told Lake County News he plans to run in the recall election.
Martin said he's pursuing the sheriff's job, and the role of public servant, because service to the community is a family tradition.
His wife, Crystal, works as a victim advocate in the District Attorney's Office's Victim-Witness Division.
His mother, Joyce Campbell, is a retired prosecutor who now works part-time at the Self-Help Law Center in Clearlake.
Martin's father is Judge Richard Martin, who has presided over Lake County Superior Court's Department 2 since 2005.
In addition, Martin's grandfather was a firefighter, his grandmother worked in education and a great uncle was a pilot in the military.
Martin said he had his family's full support for the run for office, and couldn't – and wouldn't – do it without their approval.
If elected, what’s the first thing Martin would do?
He said it would be something Rivero promised, and failed, to do – giving everyone in the department a clean slate in order to move forward.
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Police report contact with woman missing from Clearlake
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A young Clearlake woman who went to Nevada earlier this month and has since had no contact with family or friends has had a recent contact with police, according to new information in the case.
Desirae Deweese, 22, had been reported missing by her father earlier this month after the trip to Reno with her ex-boyfriend, who reportedly returned without her following an argument, as Lake County News has reported.
She had had contacts with Reno Police on March 6 and March 8, and appeared in good health at that time, according to Sgt. Nick Bennett of the Clearlake Police Department, the agency that took the missing person’s report.
On Friday, Bennett told Lake County News that Reno Police reported having had another, more recent contact with the young woman.
Bennett said that on Friday, March 15, police had found her loitering outside of a Reno motel at about 2:30 a.m.
Deweese told police she didn’t want any help, said Bennett, and she’s since been removed from the missing persons system.
“I don’t know what she’s doing there,” Bennett said. “I’m still concerned about her.”
Family friend Renee Martin has been worried about Deweese, whose mother recently died.
The young woman was not in a good state of mind after that personal loss, Martin said.
Martin said she’s prepared to get some people together to go to Reno and try to find Deweese to bring her home.
Anyone with information is asked to call her family at 707-295-2238 or 707-245-2525, or visit a Facebook page set up for her, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-locate-Desirae-Deweese/172807502869064?ref=ts&;fref=ts .
John Jensen contributed to this report.
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