How to resolve AdBlock issue? Sheriff served with notice of recall
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Just before a Tuesday morning Board of Supervisors discussion was set to begin on whether or not to take a no confidence vote on the county's sheriff and seek his resignation, a newly formed citizens committee served the sheriff with a notice that a recall effort was getting under way.
Sheriff Frank Rivero was served with the notice by a group that is calling itself the Committee to Recall Rivero and Restore Integrity, according to its spokesman, retired Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Chris Rivera.
After nearly three hours of discussion and public input, the board voted unanimously that it had no confidence in Rivero's leadership of the sheriff's office and that it would seek his resignation.
Afterward, Rivero refused to respond to a Lake County News reporter's request for reaction to the supervisors' vote.
Following the meeting, Rivera, who served 27 years with the sheriff's office and retired after Rivero came into office, said signature gathering for the recall effort is set to begin.
He outlined the reasons for seeking the sheriff's recall, noting that many of the committee members included people who once had supported the sheriff. The full committee membership has not yet been released.
Rivera said that the sheriff's integrity is an issue as is a string of broken promises, compounded by District Attorney Don Anderson's finding in February that Rivero lied during a 2008 nonfatal shooting while Rivero was working as a deputy sheriff. Rivera said the shooting – involving a man who was holding a can of pepper spray, not a lethal weapon – was unjustified.
“We feel it's actually our duty to initiate this recall,” said Rivera.
He said the committee believes Rivero has dishonored the county's citizens, and hurt the credibility of the sheriff's office through unethical actions and decisions.
According to the committee, Rivero tried to withhold from the public his false testimony about the shooting.
Anderson's finding that Rivero lied resulted in Rivero being placed on a list of “Brady” officers, under the 1963 US Supreme Court decision Brady v. Maryland, which requires prosecutors to divulge to defendants in criminal cases any exculpatory evidence.
Rivero's Brady finding makes him the first known sheriff in California to have had such a finding. Ron Cottingham, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California, or PORAC, told Lake County News in a previous interview that the association is not aware of any sheriff or police chief in California ever having received a Brady determination before.
The Brady finding, according to Rivera and the committee, is a key motivating factor for the recall.
Rivera said the Brady finding nullified the public trust necessary for Rivero to lead the sheriff's department and put the taxpayers of the county on the hook for costly lawsuits, such as the one Rivero now has against Anderson over the Brady matter.
Another factor, according to Rivera, is that the sheriff has alienated himself from every law enforcement agency in the county with his “unethical and erratic behavior and lack of integrity.”
“The committee believes Rivero should do the honorable thing and resign,” Rivera said, adding that the citizens can't afford a sheriff with a demonstrable record of dishonesty.
Rivero has fired reserves, caused many experienced officers to leave because of his “erratic” behavior, lost the control of the Office of Emergency Services – which Rivera had coordinated during his time with the agency and said was a “terrible loss” for the sheriff's office – and failed to follow up on his campaign promise to create a citizens advisory board intended to make the department more transparent.
Rivera said the committee believes Rivero has spent so much time dealing with what he believed to be corruption in county government – an issue he raised at the board meeting on Tuesday – that he has failed to actually fulfill the responsibilities of the job of sheriff.
“We want to bring this recall to the public so that they can certainly make a choice,” said Rivera.
Present for the Tuesday discussion was retired Lake County Sheriff Ray Benevedes, who Rivera said had hired him back when he first arrived in Lake County from Humboldt County, where he had been a reserve deputy for two years.
After Benevedes left office, he was followed by Sheriff James Wright, who served one term. Early in that term, according to Rivera, the Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association gave Wright a no confidence vote. Wright would be succeeded by Rod Mitchell, who Rivero defeated in November 2010.
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Sheriff’s no confidence vote, public broadcasting and library matters go before supervisors this week
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors is set to take up a proposed vote of no confidence on the county’s sheriff this week, and also will hear a presentation on making public television available for free locally and consider closing the Middletown Library temporarily as operations move to the new library in the town.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 19, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. The meeting will be broadcast live on TV8.
The board’s proposed no confidence vote on Sheriff Frank Rivero is scheduled for 10 a.m. At the same time, the board will discuss seeking the sheriff’s resignation.
Supervisors Anthony Farrington and Rob Brown, in their memo to the board, cite a number of concerns about Rivero’s leadership of the sheriff’s office, as well as the District Attorney’s Office’s recent finding that Rivero lied about his actions during a nonfatal February 2008 shooting.
In other board business, at 9:15 a.m., the board will hear a presentation regarding options to provide Lake County residents with over-the-air public television.
Larry Stratton, chief engineer and operating officer of KRCB Channel 22 in Rohnert Park, will make the presentation.
The matter is going before the board at the request of Lucerne resident Jon Nelson, who wants public television shows like “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company” to be available to local children.
In an untimed item, the board will consider a request to close Middletown’s Gibson Library from March 26-April 1 in order to move into the new Middletown Library building.
Also on Tuesday, the board will present a proclamation at 9:10 a.m. designating March 19, 2013, as National Agriculture Day.
The full agenda follows.
TIMED ITEMS
9 a.m. A-1 to A-4: Approval of consent agenda, which includes items that are expected to be routine and noncontroversial, and will be acted upon by the board at one time without discussion; presentation of animals available for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control; consideration of items not appearing on the posted agenda, and contract change orders for current construction projects.
9 a.m., A-5: Administer oath of office to the planning commissioners for Districts 2, 3, 4 and 5.
9:05 a.m.: Citizen’s input. Any person may speak for three minutes about any subject of concern, provided that it is within the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors and is not already on the agenda. Prior to this time, speakers must fill out a slip giving name, address and subject (available in the clerk of the board’s office, first floor, courthouse).
9:10 a.m., A-5: Presentation of proclamation designating March 19, 2013, as National Agriculture Day.
9:15 a.m., A-6: Presentation regarding options to provide Lake County residents with over-the-air public television.
9:45 a.m., A-7: Presentation of countywide plan for child care and development planning council services.
10 a.m., A-8: Consideration of vote of no confidence and request for resignation of Sheriff Frank Rivero.
NONTIMED ITEMS
A-9: Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.
A-10: Consideration of appointments to the Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health Advisory Board and Middletown Cemetery District.
A-11: Consideration of request to approve out-of-county travel for three Medical Reserve Corps volunteers to attend the Medical Reserve Corps Round-up training in Ojai, Calif., from May 3-5, 2013.
A-12: Consideration of request to close Middletown Library from March 26-April 1 in order to move into the new Middletown Library building.
A-13: Consideration of proposed agreement between the County of Lake and Forensic Medical Group for forensic pathology services.
CLOSED SESSION
A-14: 1.Conference with labor negotiator: (a) county negotiators: A. Grant, L. Guintivano, M. Perry, and A. Flora; and (b) Employee Organization: Deputy District Attorney's Association, Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Lake County Correctional Officers Association, Lake County Employees Association and Lake County Safety Employees Association.
A-14: 2. Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Michael Fowler and Emily Ford v. County of Lake, et al., Case No. CV412464.
CONSENT AGENDA
C-1: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held on March 12, 2013.
C-2: Adopt proclamation designating March 19, 2013, as National Agriculture Day.
C-3: Approve first amendment to agreement between the county of Lake (AODS) and Hilltop Recovery Services for FY 2012-2013 residential treatment services, for an increase of $15,000, and authorize the chair to sign.
C-4: Approve second amendment to agreement between the county of Lake (Mental Health) and Hilltop Recovery Services for FY 2012-13 residential treatment services, for an increase of $20,000, and authorize the chair to sign.
C-5: Approve letter of support to the California Department of Food and Commission Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program for Phase II grant application “Building Sustainability in the Vineyard: Practical Application, Training and Study”, and authorize all Supervisors to sign.
C-6: Approve second amendment to agreement between the county of Lake and Quincy Engineering Inc., for engineering services for replacement of the St. Helena Creek Bridge, No. 14C-0072, at Hilderbrand Drive near Middletown, an increase of $17,700, and authorize the chair to sign.
C-7: Waive 900 hour limit for extra help Office Assistant I Jennifer Meyer.
C-8: Adopt Resolution temporarily prohibiting parking and authorizing removal of vehicles and ordering the Department of Public Works to post signs (Hartmann Road, Hidden Valley, on March 23, 2013, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.).
C-9: (a)Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2012-107 establishing positions and allocations to conform to the Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2012-2013, Budget Unit No. 1903, Department of Public Works (delete one (1) 0.5 FTE Office Assistant II and one (1) 1.0 FTE Accounting Technician, Senior, and add (1) 1.0 FTE Office Assistant II and one (1) 0.5 FTE Accounting Technician, Senior); and (b) Adopt Resolution amending Resolution No. 2012-107 establishing positions and allocations to conform to the Adopted Budget for Fiscal Year 2012-13, Budget Unit No. 1903, Water Resources Department (delete one (1) 1.0 FTE Fiscal Technician and one 0.5 FTE Office Assistant II, and add one (1) 0.5 FTE Accounting Technician, Senior and one (1) 1.0 FTE Office Assistant II).
C-10: Resolution approving the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to apply for the State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, Off-Highway Vehicle Grant funds.
C-11: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and County of Glenn for FY 2012-13 Child Welfare Services (CWS)/Case Management System (CMS) training services, in the amount of $15,824, and authorize the Social Services Director to sign.
C-12: Approve request to waive 900 hour limit for extra-help Victim Advocate I Tatsuhiro Suzuki.
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031913 BOS - Rivero No Confidence Vote by LakeCoNews
030413 Lake County District Attorney's Final Report Regarding Sheriff Rivero Brady determination by LakeCoNews
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Clearlake Police Department announces staff awards
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department recently honored the stars within its ranks with annual awards noting serving above and beyond the call of duty.
At last Thursday’s Clearlake City Council meeting, Police Chief Craig Clausen introduced the department’s two new officers and presented the staff awards.
New officers are Chris Reagan, a former department employee who returned after a few years away, and Trevor Franklin, a Middletown native now in his first law enforcement job.
Clausen said the awards for both nonsworn and sworn employees were for services that exceeded their jobs’ expectations.
While he said he considered all of his staff to be stars, “This is from their peers that these selections were made.”
Richard Moore was named volunteer of the year for his efforts on behalf of the department, including keeping patrol cars in tip-top shape.
For nonsworn employee of the year, Sherri Vannest was honored.
Clausen said that during the city’s budget crisis Vannest – who had been with the city for 17 years and had served as the chief of police’s secretary – had her job cut from the department.
However, a dispatch position came open and she applied, rejoining the department, he said.
“She is a great asset,” said Clausen. “It was a tremendous loss when we lost her.”
She was recognized for her hard work and dependability, and willingness to come in any time she’s needed, Clausen said.
Det. Travis Lenz was selected as sworn officer of the year.
Lenz, said Clausen, started with the department about three years ago.
He also works as a field training officer for the department, and has stepped up to fill in while a sergeant is off on a family matter.
The council and audience gave the three rounds of applause, with Mayor Jeri Spittler also offering her thanks.
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Supervisors to consider no confidence vote on sheriff and request for resignation
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Twenty-six months into his first term, Lake County’s sheriff is facing a direct challenge from the county’s Board of Supervisors, who will discuss seeking his resignation and giving him a no confidence vote next week.
Supervisors Anthony Farrington and Rob Brown have asked for the board to consider the vote of no confidence and request for Sheriff Frank Rivero’s resignation at the board meeting on Tuesday, March 19. The discussion is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Rivero did not respond to a Lake County News request for comment.
In their memorandum to the board, which can be seen in its entirely below, Farrington and Brown wrote that, in light of District Attorney Don Anderson placing Rivero on a “Brady” list of officers with credibility issues, “we feel it incumbent upon this Board to ask for a vote of No Confidence and to formally ask for the immediate resignation of Mr. Rivero.”
The “Brady” determination is named for the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case, Brady v. Maryland, which requires prosecutors to release to defendants in criminal cases any information that could help clear them, including credibility issues of peace officers involved in their cases.
Rivero’s Brady issue is considered a serious one in the law enforcement profession, and it appears to be the first time a California sheriff has ever been placed on a Brady list.
“It’s a highly unprecedented event,” Ron Cottingham, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California, or PORAC, told Lake County News.
Cottingham said PORAC, which knows of Rivero’s situation, is not aware of any sheriff or police chief in California ever having received a Brady determination before.
Brown said he has spoken to other sheriffs about Rivero’s Brady matter, and that they have called it both unprecedented and an embarrassment to the profession.
The National Sheriff’s Association has not responded to numerous information requests from Lake County News seeking to determine if any sheriff in other parts of the United States has ever been placed on a Brady list before.
Anderson made the determination on Rivero’s credibility after investigating a February 2008 nonfatal shooting incident in which Rivero, while working as a deputy, shot at a man holding a can of pepper spray, which would have been a violation of sheriff’s office policy.
Rivero initially told investigators that he saw pepper spray in the man’s hand, and witnesses at the scene said Rivero had told the man repeatedly to “drop the pepper spray,” which he later denied saying. He also changed his story and claimed he could not tell what the man was holding.
Anderson released his findings, which concluded that Rivero had lied about his actions, to Rivero’s attorney on Feb. 19. Ten days later Anderson was served with a suit in which Rivero sought a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and writ of mandate.
Rivero was aiming to stop Anderson from releasing his findings either to the public or to criminal defendants, as Anderson is required to do under Brady v. Maryland.
However, a day before Rivero’s suit was filed, retired Judge David Herrick had ordered the Brady materials on Rivero to be released to three Hells Angels members facing prosecution for a June 2011 fight with a rival Vagos gang member. The defendants in that case allege that Rivero was singling them out for their affiliation.
Rank and file officers who are placed on the Brady list usually are recommended for termination, Cottingham said.
Such is the case in Lake County. Anderson said that when he came into office, all of the individuals on the Lake County District Attorney’s Office Brady list were no longer peace officers.
Cottingham said Brady determinations do not carry prohibitions against carrying firearms or doing the work of an officer. The main issues relate to making arrests or being percipient witnesses in criminal cases.
In those cases, the district attorney must divulge to the defense an officer’s lack of credibility, meaning that, ultimately, it’s the district attorney’s problem, said Cottingham.
Case law has established that Brady decisions, ultimately, rest with district attorneys, but Rivero is now challenging that in court with his attempt to seek the writ of mandate and preliminary injunction.
At a March 4 hearing, retired Butte County Superior Court Judge William Lamb denied Rivero’s application for the restraining order and ordered all of the Brady documents – including Anderson’s findings – into the public court records.
Lamb is allowing Rivero to move forward on the preliminary injunction, with no date yet set according to Anderson.
Anderson told Lake County News that he didn’t understand the point of the injunction at this point, as his finding and the associated documents now are public.
In Rivero’s court filings, which allege civil rights violations in the Brady process, it states, “Plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm if Defendant is not enjoined from releasing, disclosing or discussing any and all aspects of Plaintiff being on the District Attorney's 'Brady List' because, once it is released that Petitioner is a 'Brady' officer, his reputation will be severely injured and his ability to continue to serve as Sheriff or in other law enforcement capacities will be nullified.”
Quoting that passage from Rivero’s court filings, Farrington and Brown wrote, “Given Mr. Rivero’s statements, the only remedy now that Judge Lamb has released this information is for Mr. Rivero to offer his resignation and allow the Board to proceed in appointing a suitable replacement who will restore integrity to the Sheriff’s Department.”
Their memo noted that any nonelected county employee “who engaged in such practices would be terminated.”
However, Rivero’s credibility isn’t the only concern for Brown and Farrington.
“While this issue, on its own, should bring the Board to this conclusion it is certainly not the only issue that this Board and the citizens of Lake County have had to deal with,” they stated in their memo to their board colleagues. “The considerable cost to the taxpayers associated with many of the decisions made by Mr. Rivero as sheriff, in addition to the abuse of the time of other departments due to the lack of cooperation, ignorance of process, vindictive behaviour, lack of understanding of financial matters, excessive supervision and documented dishonesty have a contributed to reaching this point.”
The board’s proposed action is the latest sign of tension between the county’s chief governing body and Rivero, who is pursuing his suit against Anderson with county funds, based on a judge’s ruling last year.
On Tuesday the board voted to defer payment of the latest bill from Rivero’s attorneys, the Southern California-based law firm Jones and Mayer, for $29,600 until County Counsel Anita Grant can get clarification from the court on how much longer the county is required to pay for Rivero’s legal challenge.
Total costs to date have reached about $52,000, Grant said Tuesday.
The board also voted last month to remove the Office of Emergency Services from the sheriff’s oversight, placing it under the County Administrative Office’s supervision.
Farrington, originally a strong supporter of Rivero, said Wednesday that he didn’t want to make any public statements before the March 19 meeting.
“I’m reserving my comments for next Tuesday,” he told Lake County News Tuesday afternoon.
For his part, since the agenda was released on Wednesday morning, Brown said he’s been overwhelmed with phone, email and Facebook messages from community members who are in unanimous support of the board taking action against Rivero and seeking his removal from office.
“My phone has been ringing off the hook,” said Brown, who has clashed repeatedly with Rivero over the past two years.
While Brown thinks the action is important to take, he doesn’t believe Rivero will step down.
“I think his huge ego and lack of common sense won’t allow him to do the right thing, but we’re asking that he does,” Brown said.
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031913 BOS - Rivero No Confidence Vote
030413 Lake County District Attorney's Final Report Regarding Sheriff Rivero Brady determination by LakeCoNews
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Two police officers treated for chemical inhalation during call; hazmat team called out
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Two Clearlake Police officers were treated at a local hospital on Monday night after they inhaled chemicals while responding to a call at a red-tagged residence in Clearlake.
The call, which would be handled as a hazmat incident, was dispatched at approximately 9:30 p.m. Monday, according to Lt. Tim Celli.
Celli said the two officers – whose names were not released – were dispatched to 16224 26th Ave. for a report of a suspicious person at a red-tagged residence.
It was the same location where officers discovered a methamphetamine lab on Feb. 7. At that time the residence was red-tagged due to the unsafe conditions associated with the property and methamphetamine lab chemicals discovered at the scene, Celli said. The red tag had not been lifted since that date.
When the officers arrived, they contacted 35-year-old Edward Rhinehardt Jurek on the property. In addition, the officers discovered containers that contained what they believed to be chemical liquids which appeared to be in process of reacting, Celli said.
Jurek told the officers he was combining acids to extract gold from computer parts, a method which he discovered on the Internet, according to Celli's report.
Celli explained that, at about the same time, the chemicals violently reacted, producing a cloud vapor which was accidentally inhaled by the two officers.
He said the property was secured for safety reasons and Lake County Fire Protection District was requested to respond to the scene.
As a precautionary measure, approximately 11 residents who lived near the property were evacuated, Celli said.
Officer Bradlee Middleton, who Celli said also was at the scene but not exposed to the chemical vapors, spoke with Jurek, who maintained that he was extracting gold from computer parts and was using a multitude of acid mixtures to complete the process.
Jurek was discovered to be under the influence of a controlled substance and was subsequently arrested during the investigation. Celli said Jurek was later booked into the Lake County Jail after a medical clearance.
The officers who suffered illness from the chemical inhalation were transported to Saint Helena Hospital Clear Lake by fellow officers soon after the event. Celli said they were treated for chemical inhalation and later released from the hospital after several hours of treatment and observation by medical staff.
Lake County Fire's hazmat personnel, along with Lake County Environmental Health, were requested to respond to the scene to assess and neutralize the chemicals, Celli said.
Hazmat personnel were able to successfully neutralize the chemicals and emergency personnel were able to clear the scene at approximately 1:15 a.m. Tuesday, Celli said.
He said the chemicals discovered at the scene were consistent with Jurek’s statements and were not identified as being associated with the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine.
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