On Thursday, the Lake County Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee held a meeting to discuss which local agencies' requests would receive portions of about $874,000 from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund, to which Big Valley and Robinson Rancheria contribute. Middletown Rancheria does not pay into the fund.
Sheriff Frank Rivero – in his first funding request since taking office earlier this year – had submitted requests totaling about $450,000, according to committee documents Lake County News obtained from county officials.
However, the committee's vote resulted in Rivero receiving no funds.
On Friday Rivero said that he believes the vote against his request by Buffy Jimenez, Robinson's member on the commission, was in response to his refusal to grant Robinson Rancheria's tribal police access to certain sheriff's records and radio systems, as well as to his reported statement to the Robinson Rancheria tribal council that, “The sheriff’s office is not for sale.”
The tribe's attorney, Lester Marston, has not responded to requests from Lake County News for a comment on relations between the tribe and Rivero, and Robinson Rancheria Tribal Police Chief Dave Mendoza recently refused to accept a call from this reporter regarding interactions with the sheriff's office.
Supervisor Rob Brown, who sits on the committee and voted in favor of the sheriff's office getting the funds, told Lake County News, “I am not privy to the details and issues that either tribe uses when making their decisions on which application to support but, rather than focus on the applications that were not successful, I think that we should be grateful for those that did receive funding.”
Since 2003, the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund has generated more than $5 million in benefits to local agencies, including new ambulances for fire departments, equipment for law enforcement and other mitigations to balance the impacts of local gaming, according to county documents.
“In each year that funding has been available to distribute in the past, the Lake County Sheriff's Office has received the majority of the funding,” said Brown. “It has been very helpful and I appreciate the consideration and support that the tribes have given.”
However, on Thursday, when the committee met, two committee members were absent, and with a basic quorum present the group's rules required unanimous votes for all funding requests, Brown said.
While Brown and fellow Supervisor Jeff Smith voted for the sheriff's requests, Jimenez didn't. As a result, Rivero's funding requests – including one for $188,000 that had been endorsed by Big Valley Rancheria – weren't granted, according to statements both by Brown and Rivero.
Robinson's issues with Rivero surfaced at the committee's April 7 meeting.
The minutes of the meeting stated that the committee discussed Rivero's requests. “The committee felt more explanation and justification was needed form the Sheriff. Robinson expressed their strong opposition to funding any of the Sheriff's grant applications. Supervisor Brown suggested giving the Sheriff several weeks to respond to the committee with justification for his requests for funding.”
At another point in the meeting, when discussing a funding request from South Lake County Fire Protection District, Nicholas Medina, a member of the Robinson Rancheria tribal council, suggested that the fire district's application should be funded with monies requested by Rivero for his Southshore office.
The committee at that time also had discussed having the sheriff come to a meeting.
On Thursday, in addition to the committee members, Brown said District Attorney Don Anderson, Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells, County Administrative Office staff, a member of the media and several members of the Robinson Tribal Council were in attendance. He added that the meeting was a public meeting and any department head advocating for their application was free to attend.
Both Brown and Anderson said Rivero didn't attend the meeting.
Anderson said that Rivero's absence was noted at the end of the meeting by Robinson tribal council member Stoney Timmons. Paraphrasing Timmons' comment, Anderson said, “By not showing up he (Rivero) showed them no respect.”
Rivero said it was Jimenez who voted against the distributions for his agency and “ultimately blocked” any other distributions, including the one that had been supported by Big Valley.
However, Brown rose to Jimenez's defense.
“As far as Buffy Jimenez, I have been on this committee from its inception and I have enjoyed working with Buffy in this capacity,” Brown said. “She is thoughtful and informed in her decisions and she has never acted independent of the wishes of the tribal council that she represents.”
The District Attorney's Office received $279,000, the full requested allocation. Anderson said more than half of that funding will go toward a district attorney investigator position that will work solely on casino-related crimes.
“It's going to be very proactive,” Anderson said of the position. “That's what I offered to the tribe.”
The other half of the funding will support partial position allocations for a prosecutor, an investigator and a Victim-Witness advocate, as well as $20,000 in video and audio equipment to assist with investigations, Anderson said.
In response to the news that the sheriff's funding requests hadn't been granted, the Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association weighed in on the situation Friday.
In a statement issued to Lake County News, the group said, “The Deputy Sheriff's Association is highly concerned about this financial shortfall. We hope that this matter does not affect staffing or services to the community. While there may be several underlying issues that may have led to the tribal leaders' final decision, we remain committed to our service to the community and tribal lands. The Deputy Sheriff's Association will continue to work with administration in an attempt to meet common goals in these financially difficult times.”
Disagreements over law enforcement interactions
Rivero believes Robinson's vote against him was influenced by an ongoing disagreement that he's had with the tribe's leadership regarding access to law enforcement resources by the tribe's police department, formed in 2008.
To back up that assertion, he released two e-mails sent to him earlier this year by Mendoza, a former Lakeport Police officer.
On Jan. 19, Mendoza wrote to Rivero and provided him with a draft agreement that had been presented to former Sheriff Rod Mitchell in August 2009 regarding access to county services. Mendoza also sent Rivero a copy of a Bureau of Indian Affairs/Office of Justice Services deputization agreement.
“I was provided some information on some upcoming financial opportunities that you may be
interested in,” said Mendoza, who then requested the chance to meet with Rivero that afternoon.
On Jan. 25, Mendoza sent another e-mail notifying Rivero that he had been appointed to oversee all Special Distribution Fund requests concerning the Robinson Rancheria and the 2011 Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund.
“In the past years we have not supported the Lake County Sheriff's Department on their funding requests,” Mendoza wrote. “This year there is approx. 800,000 (sic) in funds to distribute. This provides your agency an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to the Tribes by supporting the
Robinson Rancheria Police Department in a partnership which would include the financial
support and services of the SDF. There is a time line on the application of March 11, 2011 and
the need for letters of support from the Tribes. This is an important opportunity for the Sheriff’s
Department to obtain an additional funding source while providing services which will have very
little impact on your agency.”
According to Rivero, the “services” Mendoza said the sheriff’s office would be expected to provide in exchange for any Special Distribution Fund allocations related to Mendoza's past requests for deputization as a California peace officer, access to the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) and the California Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Radio System (CLEMARS).
CLETS is a criminal history information database maintained by the state of California and governed by the Government Code. Rivero said California’s 58 sheriffs hold master agreements with the state for allowing access to law enforcement agencies within their respective counties to CLETS.
The sheriff said Robinson Rancheria “is statutorily ineligible for access to the system as they are not a state agency, or part of a city, county or public agency.”
He said that CLEMARS – a radio frequency intended only for law enforcement agencies’ use during emergencies – also is entrusted to the sheriff for access, and requires that those agencies receiving permission from the sheriff be California law enforcement agencies capable of providing mutual aid in an emergency.
“Once again, the Robinson Rancheria does not conform to these mandates,” Rivero said in his Friday statement.
Rivero said that access to either system can only be granted by the sheriff and that he's “properly denied” that request, along with the deputization of Robinson's two police officers – including Mendoza and a sergeant.
He acknowledged that Robinson Rancheria Tribal Police have federal special law enforcement commission authority to enforce certain federal laws on Indian lands, but he asserted that the commission does not authorize those officers to enforce state law in California.
“Deputizing Robinson officers and granting them access to state automated systems reserved for use by California peace officers would place all of the liability for their actions on the county of Lake and would jeopardize the sheriffs’ office and other local law enforcement agencies access to CLETS and CLEMARS in the event it were misused by the Robinson Rancheria,” Rivero said.
According to Rivero, he attempted to explain his position during meetings with the Robinson Tribal Council without success.
Rivero said he concluded from those meetings that the Robinson Rancheria Tribal Council “was interested in having their own police force to further their own agenda.”
He said he told the tribe, in response to its demands, that the sheriff’s office was not for sale.
Issues between sheriff, tribes predate Rivero
The apparent tensions between Robinson Rancheria Tribal Police and the Lake County Sheriff's Office over access to resources predate Rivero's election or his taking office.
In Sept. 13, 2010, Mendoza sent the full Board of Supervisors a nearly four-and-a-half-page e-mail – a copy of which was obtained by Lake County News – that sharply criticized then-Sheriff Rod Mitchell for not granting access to the same systems Mendoza has since sought Rivero's approval to use.
Mendoza said he had adopted the most restrictive policies in establishing the department, pointing out that the agency has submitted thousands of cases to the District Attorney’s Office and made thousands of arrests processed into the Lake County Jail.
He asserted that the agency had been recognized by local, state and federal agencies and had established working relationships with all but the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Mendoza alleged that Mitchell was “compromising the safety of the public, my officers, and all law enforcement officers working in the county by refusing to provide the Robinson Police Department access to standardized police services which would allow the agency to have access to communications and access to the Lake County Jail.”
He said that Mitchell never approved a proposed August 2009 agreement with the tribal police. Mendoza sent a copy of that agreement to Rivero in January.
Meanwhile, the District Attorney's Office appears to be enjoying a good relationship with the local tribes. Anderson said he had promised during last year's campaign to work with them, and that's what he's doing.
His predecessor, Jon Hopkins, signed a memorandum of understanding with Robinson Rancheria last August to allow its tribal police to directly file cases with the District Attorney's Office.
“Robinson tribal police will directly file with our office and they have been for some time,” Anderson said.
Anderson said the tribes want law and order at their casinos. “They're doing everything they can to get this law and order.”
A Department of the Interior official sent Hopkins a letter last September outlining several concerns about the agreement – namely relating to language that designated the tribal police as an agency of the Department of the Interior rather than the tribe itself, calling the tribe's police “federal law enforcement officers” and clarifying that the Department of Interior didn't recognize the officers as having authority to make arrests for violations of California law, because the agency views that as being exclusively within the state's jurisdiction.
Anderson said he believes those concerns were addressed by Hopkins before he left office. County Counsel Anita Grant said the District Attorney's Office hasn't been in contact with her to discuss the agreement relating to the issues raised by the Department of the Interior.
Rivero said he's planning to take his complaint about the way the funding distribution was handled to the California State Sheriffs’ Association.
He said he will request that the association propose legislation “to prevent funds intended to mitigate the effects of the gambling casinos on crime and law enforcement from being held hostage to the demands of the individual tribes.”
Brown said the fact that the sheriff's office didn't receive its allocation this year shouldn't overshadow the benefit that many other county departments, fire departments and the Lakeport Police Department will realize.
“In the event that this funding is available in future years, I look forward to continuing with the excellent working relationship that I have enjoyed with the Robinson and Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians to find appropriate uses for this funding,” he said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
011911 Mendoza E-mail to Rivero
012511 Mendoza E-mail to Rivero
MINUTES 040711 - Lake County Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee
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