With great pleasure, I am advising you that the Clear Lake Area members of the California Association of Highway Patrolmen are endorsing your candidacy for sheriff of Lake County.

In fairness, our membership has been open-minded while listening to the platforms of all the candidates for the position of sheriff; however, because of your track record of being fair, impartial and making the difficult decisions for the greater good of the community, we are compelled to give you our support.

As you know, we have never endorsed a candidate for sheriff of Lake County in previous elections or, for that matter, endorsed any political candidate for a local election.

This, of course, begs the question, “Why now, and why you?”

Simply put, it is our collective opinion that you are the right man for the job – the only candidate who can handle these difficult times we are all facing.

As officers of the law, we have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with you and your deputies in the good times and the bad. We have always counted on our mutual respect, collective efforts and spirit of cooperation to not only keep the peace, but provide safety, service and security in Lake County.

Now, more than ever, we are proud to move forward with you and your staff in your efforts to make Lake County a safe and secure place for every citizen.

Good luck to you in November.

Erich Paarsch is president of the Clear Lake Area Squad Club and representative of the California Association of Highway Patrolmen.

On Oct. 14, the department received delivery of 16 “Watchguard” brand Mobile Audio Video (MAV) systems.

MAV systems are equipment designed to be installed in patrol vehicles that enhance law enforcement’s ability to memorialize events during their investigations.

“This type of technology has served law enforcement’s mission to secure the public’s trust by providing officers and deputies with a tool that is capable of capturing evidence that is often times indisputable,” said Sheriff Rod Mitchell. “The ability to capture such compelling and valuable evidence enables investigators to ensure that criminals are brought to justice, and to ensure that citizen’s rights are protected.”

The system consists of an in-car video camera, in-car microphone system, a remote microphone transmitter, and a data recording device.

The system allows a deputy to record statements and video from events during their investigations. This information is easily saved to a DVD that can be used for subsequent review in investigations and court proceedings.

Earlier versions of the MAV came equipped with VHS format recordings. Over the years, advances in technology have produced the ability for this equipment to evolve from the VHS format to the DVD format. The DVD format allows for clearer recordings, faster copying, the ability to store larger amounts of material in smaller spaces, and easier handling.

Deputies who use this technology find it a valuable tool because it provides an impartial accounting of events. Information gathered through the use of MAV’s has proven useful in securing court convictions, exonerating people who might otherwise be suspected of wrongdoing, and providing training opportunities.

Many court cases have been decided without the necessity of a lengthy and costly trial because of footage captured by MAV equipment, the agency reported.

The sheriff’s office has nearly all of the currently deployed patrol vehicles equipped with similar systems.

Seven patrol vehicles that were purchased last year will be equipped with the new MAV systems, and 9 vehicles purchased this year will also be equipped. The addition of these MAV systems will equip every patrol unit in our fleet with the technology.

The equipment was purchased using money provided by Assembly Bill 443 monies. Assembly Bill 443 is commonly known as the Rural Sheriff’s Fund. This fund provides approximately $450,000 to rural sheriff’s departments, such as Lake County’s. The total cost of the purchase of this equipment was $85,608. Equipping all of the patrol vehicles with MAV units has been a multi-year process.

Sheriff’s office records indicate that the first 2 LCSO VHS MAV units were purchased in 2000.

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Please do not vote until you have considered this information.

There was a sheriff candidates' forum in Hidden Valley Lake on Oct. 6. Francisco Rivero was asked about his role in a DUI allegation against a man who was ultimately acquitted.

Before addressing the audience, Rivero first looked at the police report that he had written about the case. Then he passionately explained to the audience of more than 100 people that the acquittal was not his fault.

Rivero said, “I did not do the initial investigation or do the FSTs (field sobriety tests).”

There is a video recording available containing every word that Rivero spoke during the forum.

There was a jury trial for the DUI case in question on May 5, 2009. Francisco Rivero was questioned under oath about his role in the DUI arrest.

Before addressing the jury, Rivero first looked at the police report that he had written about the case. Then he told the jury in great detail about his initial investigation and the field sobriety tests he conducted on that suspect.

Rivero said that he based his decision to arrest the man on “The totality of the circumstances of the traffic stop and my field sobriety tests, my observations of him between the field sobriety tests.”

There is a court transcript available containing every word that Rivero spoke during that trial. (Superior Court Case No. CR914199.)

Only one of Rivero's versions of this case can be true; one version makes him a criminal – guilty of perjury and other felonies – and the other makes him a habitual liar.

No matter which statement you believe, Francisco Rivero can never testify as a credible witness again. So Rivero should not be elected to an office of trust.

Is it becoming clear why the law enforcement community does not trust Francisco Rivero?

Roth Shilts is a reserve deputy sheriff serving Lake County since March 3, 1982. He lives in Middletown, Calif.

However, the recently filed federal lawsuit by Dinius barely mentions Hopkins, but places the blame squarely on Mitchell's shoulders.

Mitchell has already served longer than any other sheriff in Lake County’s history, and he is trying to rewrite history in an attempt to get reelected for a fifth term.

The Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara Law School is co-counsel in the federal lawsuit along with Laurence Masson of Berkeley. The Innocence Project usually does not get involved until after an obviously wrongful conviction, but the Dinius prosecution and protection of Perdock by Sheriff Mitchell was so blatant that the Innocence Project became directly involved in Dinius' successful criminal defense, and is intimately familiar with the thousands and thousands of pages of discovery, reports and testimony from the trial.

I have carefully studied the 14-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court, and according to the complaint:

(1) Sheriff Mitchell conducted a corrupt investigation of the sailboat collision, and conspired with deputies to deliberately conceal exculpatory evidence and to fabricate inculpatory evidence.

(2) Capt. Perdock’s powerboat was speeding in the range of 40 to 60 miles per hour when it collided violently with the sailboat being steered at the time by Dinius, thereby killing Lynn Thornton.

(3) As the sailboat headed out that fatal evening, it passed Bayshore Marina owner Doug Jones, who was onshore about 200 to 300 yards from the sailboat, and Jones observed its navigation lights on. On the morning following the deadly collision involving Capt. Perdock and Bismarck Dinius, Jones told Deputy Lloyd Wells, who worked in the Sheriff’s Marine Patrol unit and who had responded on scene to the boat collision, that he had observed the Dinius sailboat with its running lights on. Deputy Wells prepared no investigative report of this information from Jones.

(4) For more than an hour and a half, Sheriff Mitchell was on the scene where the boats were towed ashore.

(5) Sgt. James Beland sought to administer an alcohol breathalyzer test to Captain Perdock, who was at the scene onshore, but was ordered not to, and thus a breathalyzer test was never administered to Perdock.

(6) Mitchell and others intimidated and coerced Sgt. Beland, until his trial testimony, to conceal that he had been ordered not to administer the test to Perdock.

(7) Konocti Harbor security guards saw Perdock at the Konocti bars in the evening shortly before the crash. Two deputies walked through Konocti following the collision and inquired whether Perdock was there earlier in the evening, and the Konocti security guards told the officers that Perdock was in the bars that evening, but no investigative report was ever prepared by the deputies.

(8) Two days after the collision, Mitchell asked a Sacramento County deputy sheriff to conduct a supposedly independent and thorough investigation. But, the Sacramento deputy never seriously considered Perdock as a wrongdoer, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office gave the Sacramento deputy no interview reports of third parties who saw the sailboat navigation lights on the evening of the collision. The Sacramento deputy only interviewed Perdock and two onshore witnesses who saw or heard the Perdock powerboat immediately before the crash.

(9) Under Mitchell’s leadership, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has a custom, practice and unwritten code of conduct protecting favored employees such as Capt. Perdock, and punishing employees, such as Sergeant Beland, who resisted favoritism when it crossed the line.

And that’s just from the complaint filed in U.S. District Court. In addition, there was testimony at trial that following the collision, the boats were left unguarded, and Perdock and others had access to them. Also, the chain of custody of the blood samples was extremely problematic, and the samples were accessible to Perdock and other deputies.

In addition, there was testimony at trial that after the collision Capt. Perdock remained in a supervisory

capacity to the deputies investigating the collision. Most of the Dinius jury thought the sheriff’s office was acting like the Keystone Kops.

Sheriff Mitchell can tell us the earth is flat, and he can tell us the Dinius fiasco was all Hopkins' fault, but neither is true, and the voters will not be fooled on Nov. 2.

Ron Green is an attorney. He lives in Lower Lake, Calif.

My wife and I became interested in this race first because of the local law enforcement’s reputation. Later, primarily because of the nationally reported power versus sailboat incident, but there also appeared to be a long list of public fund misuse, firings and lawsuits. All roads seemed to lead to the Sheriff and leadership or lack thereof. Not so much to his deputies.

Once the election campaign really began, a clearer pattern emerged. Most importantly was the incumbent’s campaign tactics reminiscent of a Chicago political boss, to wit: demonize the opponent, ridicule his record, deflect from your own, deny any knowledge of wrongdoing, pander to the troops but remove those that disagree and cultivate favoritism. I may have missed some, perhaps the always present promise to change and do better, or a focus on image rather than accomplishments. But my bet is that we will see more negative charges from a desperate low-achiever before it’s over. The interesting thing about all this is two points.

The first is that many of the players affected are cops themselves. The boat occupant that died, the cop who caused the accident and was regarded enough to become a captain, and the investigating deputy, all are now gone. So too a fund-misusing helicopter trainee, a corrections officer and the list goes on. Replace these with wrongful lawsuits against the County. Add to this the disrespect shown toward the political challenger, also an officer, in debates attended by law enforcement staff and one wonders what examples and standards are being given. The person still in place is the politician himself with fingers pointed outward. I’ll bet even the cops are wondering whether this is a question of keep experience or change a pattern.

Secondly, look through the smoke about the challenger. He was tough and smart enough to escape a bad teenage environment, earn several hard to acquire credentials and achieve commendations as a San Francisco street cop for helping to rid the streets of gang and drug dealing. He went on as a successful businessman and even challenged an unfair business environment. It just doesn’t sound like a person that should be demonized. You might not agree with his proposals such as community review, input and involvement for better service, or even like his personality, but I wouldn’t show disrespect.

In my view, the only thing to gain by electing the incumbent is to reward bad behavior. The gain for electing his opponent is a tougher-than-nails reformer, a willing-to-listen learner and a welcome break in the old pattern. For me, the choice between these devils is the easiest I’ve ever made.

Jim Steele live in Clearlake Oaks, Calif.

The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) issued a closure letter to Mitchell dated Sept. 23, and posted on its Web site this week at www.fppc.ca.gov/index.php?id=560, reporting that it had closed its investigation into the matter.

“We knew that it was a false charge to begin with and we knew we would be exonerated, but it's nice to have the document that proves it,” Mitchell told Lake County News.

He added, “No candidates and no candidates' supporters for any office should be allowed to make false claims in a campaign and I'm grateful that this one was revealed as such.”

The allegations against Mitchell – who is running for reelection against challenger Francisco Rivero – stemmed from his appearance on June 19 in the Middletown Days Parade.

In the Sept. 23 letter to Mitchell, FPPC Enforcement Division Chief Gary Winuk said the commission concluded that Mitchell “did not use public moneys, in the form of county sheriff resources and personnel, in connection with this campaign activity.”

Winuk continued, “Specifically, our investigation found that, based upon video footage of the event, Sheriff Mitchell had five 'entries' in the Middletown Parade, none of which utilized official sheriff vehicles, equipment or on-duty personnel.”

Mitchell had been accompanied in the parade by numerous off-duty deputies and their families who passed out yellow balloons and marched in the event.

He had used a truck belonging to Supervisor Rob Brown that was adorned with Mitchell and Lake County Deputy Sheriffs Association signs, with children of deputies riding on the truck. Rivero also was in the parade, riding in a convertible.

Lakeport resident Bruce Forsythe, who runs a blog devoted to criticizing Mitchell's administration and opposing his reelection, submitted the complaint to the FPPC, which he signed and dated on June 20, according to a copy of the document obtained by Lake County News.

Forsythe did not respond to an e-mail from Lake County News on Thursday seeking comment.

In a sworn complaint that included a declaration under penalty of perjury that the information was true, Forsythe alleged that Mitchell used sheriff's office vehicles, personnel, K9s, an Office of Emergency Services trailer and other equipment for campaign purposes during the parade.

“Sheriff Mitchell adorned some of this equipment with campaign signs and slogans,” Forsythe alleged.

“The other individual running for the sheriff and who is in a runoff with sheriff Mitchell in November was relegated to doing the right thing with no public monies used by riding in his own vehicle,” Forsythe wrote, referring to Rivero.

Listed as witnesses in the case were Alvina Vecellio, Joe Ford and Renee Burkdoll, all at the time active Rivero supporters. Since then, however, Burkdoll and Ford have stated that they are no longer supporting Rivero's election.

Forsythe further alleged that a county supervisor was involved in misusing public equipment. He did not name the supervisor in the complaint, but at the Board of Supervisors' June 22 meeting, Forsythe and Burkdoll appeared and accused Brown of taking part in what they alleged were illegal activities.

At that time Forsythe said he had submitted the complaint to the FPPC and called on the board to investigate both Mitchell and Brown and “quickly and seriously” review the matter.

Brown told Forsythe he welcomed the investigation, and asserted that Forsythe had given the commission incorrect information to begin with. “You gotta be able to respond to misinformation,” Brown said.

County Counsel Anita Grant told Lake County News this week that the FPPC did not discuss the investigation with the county, and that such matters are kept separate.

She said the county didn't take any independent action on the matter.

“If anybody believes that there is any kind of conduct that hasn't been fully addressed by the state agency, the county will certainly respond to it,” she said.

The FPPC received Forsythe's complaint on July 8. FPPC Executive Director Roman Porter sent Forsythe a letter dated July 13 informing him that the commission would investigate the allegations.

Mitchell said the complaint was sent to the sheriff's department, not to the campaign, because the allegation had to do with department usage of resources.

He spoke to Winuk and provided him with a copy of a video of the parade.

“I just let the video speak for itself,” Mitchell said, explaining that there was a clear separation between county vehicles and his own campaign entries.

Nor were there campaign balloons on any sheriff's department apparatus, he said. “It just didn't happen.”

Porter told Lake County News this week that, according to statute, the FPPC can investigate matters based on two methods – sworn complaints and investigations undertaken through the commission's own initiative.

People can go to the FPPC Web site and print out a complaint form, then mail it in. The form can be found at www.fppc.ca.gov/index.php?id=498.

Upon receiving the complaint form, the FPPC must decided whether or not to investigate, Porter explained. If the FPPC chooses to launch an inquiry, it notifies the person who will be investigated within three days of receiving the complaint, and within 14 days of getting the complaint the commission notifies the complainant of its decision to investigate.

Once the FPPC decides to open an investigation, it doesn't make any additional information available to the public or the person who made the complaint until the investigation's conclusion, Porter said.

When the FPPC issues closure, advisory or warning letters, those letters are posted on the FPPC Web site within 10 days of sending them to the subject of the complaint, a practice the commission recently started, Porter said. At about the same time as the letters are posted online, the person who submitted the complaint also is notified of the outcome.

Mitchell said of Forsythe's complaint, “It was a malicious act to malign not just me but the entire sheriff's department, and every time someone does that they seek to undermine the public's confidence in us, and that's not fair to the members of the department, it's definitely not fair to the public.”

On Wednesday, a comment was posted on Forsythe's blog under the moniker “Lovelace” – one of many names Forsythe posts under – claiming that when the FPPC complaint was filed “it was already known that it would not be found to be using public resources, and we also knew it would take until after the parades were over for the finding to come out.”

Later in the post it stated that using the FPPC complaint process worked so well that another complaint has been lodged regarding Mitchell's use of handouts and “we know the answer to the inquiry already.”

If false complaints are knowingly submitted, it's prosecutable, said Porter.

“If a commission finds evidence that an individual perjures themselves in filing a complaint, we would be very concerned with that, and if the facts warrant, would refer that to the district attorney for appropriate charges,” Porter said.

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