Capt. Russell Perdock, 48, at one time the second-highest ranking official in the department, was served with a termination notice late last month, Sheriff Rod Mitchell confirmed to Lake County News this week.
Perdock's employment ended on April 23, Mitchell said.
At the time of his separation from the agency, Perdock had been on paid administrative leave for about 10 months. Perdock was placed on “approved leave” on June 22, 2009, according to an e-mail – a copy of which was obtained by Lake County News last year – that Mitchell sent his staff on the same day.
Mitchell said he could not disclose the exact reasons for the termination, or whether an employee appeal of the action is taking place.
Alison Berry Wilkinson of San Rafael, Perdock's attorney, told Lake County News that she had no comment on the matter at this time. A phone message also was left for Perdock but was not returned.
Perdock, who Mitchell said served with the Lake County Sheriff's Office for 24 years, became the focus of intense scrutiny following a fatal boat crash on the night of April 29, 2006, in Konocti Bay near Kelseyville.
On that Saturday night, Perdock – who was off-duty – along with his friend James Walker and Walker's teenager daughter, Jordin, went for a nighttime ride in Perdock's powerboat. They cruised over from Perdock's home in Clearlake Park to Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa before heading out across Konocti Bay, according to testimony the three later would give in court during the trial of Carmichael resident Bismarck Dinius.
Dinius was taking a nighttime cruise aboard the Beats Workin' II, a sailboat owned by then-Willows resident Mark Weber, and was sitting at the tiller while Weber manned the sails.
Perdock – whose speed in his Baja powerboat was estimated to be between 35 miles per hours and 50 miles per hour according to witnesses – hit the sailboat from behind, and in the collision Weber's girlfriend, 51-year-old Lynn Thornton, was mortally wounded. She died three days later at UC Davis Medical Center.
During statements to investigators and later on the stand, Perdock and his passengers insisted that the sailboat's lights weren't on, which precipitated the crash.
Dinius' defense team would argue that the lights were on but had been knocked out during the crash, in which the powerboat went up and over the sailboat, snapping its mast.
A civil case filed on behalf of Thornton's estate that settled in 2008 saw the insurance companies for Dinius and Perdock each paying out $300,000, the maximum amount, in the settlement, with Weber's insurance paying out $100,000, as Lake County News has reported.
Dinius was charged with vehicular manslaughter, felony boating under the influence with great bodily injury, misdemeanor boating under the influence and boating with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.08. The manslaughter charge was dropped shortly before trial, which took place last summer.
Perdock was not charged in the case, which angered members of the worldwide sailing community as well as Thornton's friends and family, who said Dinius was wrongly charged and the investigation improperly handled.
However, a December 2007 report from the California Department of Justice concluded that, based on an evaluation of investigative documents, the agency “did not find any areas requiring further investigation, or a need for policy enhancement” based on information Mitchell provided in requesting a review.
Additionally, District Attorney Jon Hopkins maintained that he could not prove in court what Perdock's speed was, and that a blood test showed Perdock had no alcohol in his system.
In an open letter Hopkins released to the community before Dinius' trial began in late July 2009, Hopkins – who took over the prosecution from a deputy district attorney – said he was “satisfied that the civil suit settlement resolved the issue of liability among the parties for the death of Lynn Thornton.” That was among his cited reasons for dropping the manslaughter charge against Dinius before the trial started.
However, while not charged, Perdock was the target of allegations by Dinius' defense team, which presented witnesses who alleged that they saw Perdock at Konocti Harbor drinking earlier in the evening in the hours before the crash, and others who alleged he was driving too fast on a very dark night.
In addition, the defense alleged that Perdock – who went back to work within days of the crash – had access to reports and evidence in the case. Because Perdock was in a supervisorial position over staff involved in the investigation, Dinius' attorney Victor Haltom suggested that influenced the course of the case and the decision, ultimately, to focus on Dinius.
By the time of the trial Perdock already was on leave from the sheriff's office. He was expected to be called as the last prosecution witness but Hopkins rested without calling him. Haltom called him to testify a short time later in the trial, and filed a motion to open Perdock's personnel files.
That motion stated that on Aug. 6, 2009 – the day Perdock originally was set to testify – Hopkins disclosed in the judge's chambers that Perdock was the subject of an internal affairs investigation.
Wilkinson's response to the motion explained that on or around June 16, 2009, Perdock had gone on approved leave status after visiting a medical professional who indicated that he had a medical condition that required he take a 45-day leave of absence.
It was after he went on medical leave that Mitchell notified Perdock that he was the subject of an internal affairs investigation concerning allegations of misconduct, according to Wilkinson's response. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office handled that investigation.
When Wilkinson appeared in court on Perdock's behalf, she successfully fought the motion for his personnel records. After reviewing the documents in chambers, Judge J. Michael Byrne said he found nothing discoverable for the Dinius case.
In August 2009, a jury acquitted Dinius, who has since hired an attorney to pursue a civil case against the county.
The termination of Perdock came just a month after Deputy Mike Morshed was let go from the department, Mitchell confirmed.
Beginning in February, Morshed became the focus of an investigation – still ongoing – involving large amounts of computer data and reports that he is alleged to have taken from the sheriff's office. The California Department of Justice is assisting in investigating the matter, as Lake County News has reported.
Law requires personnel records protection
County Counsel Anita Grant said the proceedings regarding Perdock's termination and the county's appeal process are confidential.
She said California is extraordinary in its protections for employees in general and, more specifically, for peace officers.
Grant said the state constitution offers employees a right to privacy, and the courts have determined that right includes personnel information. “This is longstanding state law,” and case law is unequivocal, she added.
Beyond that constitutional protection, peace officers also have statutory protection for personnel records, which can only be obtained through Pitchess motions that make a showing that a court case has need of specific information for a particular reason, Grant explained.
“It's not a policy of Lake County, it's not a policy of the sheriff's department, it's required under state law,” she said.
Grant added that employees can waive their confidentiality rights and open their own personnel records.
The only situation in which the county could make any statements about a personnel issue is if an employee knowingly makes a false statement about their case, she said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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