LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors has called a special Friday morning meeting to discuss issues arising from the sheriff’s decision earlier this week to abruptly cut off the access of Lakeport Police and the Probation Department to a county law enforcement records management system.
The special meeting will take place beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, April 26, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting was called on Thursday morning in response to a request from the city of Lakeport for immediate action after Sheriff Frank Rivero locked the Lakeport Police Department out of the county’s Records Information Management System, or RIMS, without notice on Tuesday.
On the same day, Lake County Probation was locked out, also without any warning, according to Probation Chief Rob Howe.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen contends that Rivero’s actions compromise public and officer safety.
The board will discuss the RIMS system and consider options for how to provide efficient and cooperative access to RIMS to all local law enforcement agencies in order to ensure public safety.
With Board Chair Jeff Smith out of town, and Supervisor Anthony Farrington also unavailable due to his weekend wedding, Vice Chair Denise Rushing will run the meeting, with Supervisor Jim Comstock and Supervisor Rob Brown also set to attend, Brown said Thursday.
Local law enforcement agencies have had access to the county’s RIMS system for years. It enables them to share information on cases, investigations and individuals.
Rivero is claiming that, in the case of Lakeport Police, the agency’s staff were using the system inappropriately. Howe said he has so far not been provided a clear reason why his agency’s access was cut.
However, it’s alleged that Rivero has cut off access to the system before in response to personal disagreements with other law enforcement agencies, as District Attorney Don Anderson said Rivero did to his department in April 2011.
Anderson said Rivero has refused to restore the District Attorney’s Office’s access even after signing a formal agreement to do so in October 2011.
Rivero had granted Rasmussen and his command staff temporary access to the system but that access was completely cut off on Thursday morning, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said he and his command staff will be at Friday’s meeting, as will Lakeport City Manager Margaret Silveira, City Attorney Steve Brookes and members of the Lakeport City Council.
Anderson confirmed he also will be in attendance in order to support Rasmussen.
“If I need to say something, I’ll say it,” Anderson said.
Howe also plans to attend. On Thursday, Probation’s access still had not been restored.
He said Rivero has offered to allow one Probation staffer access, but that solution is not efficient and doesn’t address the agency’s needs for tracking probationers or creating the reports it is required to submit to the Lake County Superior Court.
Howe said that he hopes after Friday’s special meeting there will be a better solution to the problem.
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