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It has been my standing practice to avoid comment about any matter pending before the courts so as not to influence a potential jury in any case. That applied to the matter involving Bismarck Dinius and the thousands of other cases that have been processed through the Lake County courts since I have been the sheriff.
In 29 years of law enforcement I have never seen an incident generate so much discussion, and consequently, so much concern for many citizens. The only problem with the discussion is that much of it has revolved around inaccurate sound-bites that served to evoke an emotional response. Even the most supportive citizen can become concerned when this kind of information is circulated repeatedly without confirmation of – or challenge to – its accuracy.
Of course, this department could do neither before the matter was resolved in the court. Now that the Dinius case has concluded, I want to assure that the public has accurate answers to their questions about this department’s involvement in the investigation.
It is my intention to release this department’s entire case file as a PDF on our Web site for the public’s review. Obviously very few citizens will have the time to read through a voluminous record like this. But those same people may have important questions about their Sheriff’s Department’s role in the investigation and they deserve answers to those questions. It will take a few days to get the PDF created but I will have it posted the moment that it is ready.
On Aug. 18, as closing arguments were being made in the Dinius case, I began coordinating with three people to assist with collecting questions from the public. The reason for using outside parties to collect and sort the questions is to allay concerns that we would choose only the questions to which we prefer to respond. This working group will include:
Elizabeth Larson, Editor and Publisher of www.lakeconews.com : I have asked Elizabeth to chair this committee because she is well known for being an unbiased collector of facts. Phil Murphy, pear farmer from Kelseyville: I have asked Phil to serve on this committee because he is known as a citizen with a strong will, and a healthy skepticism of many aspects of government – including me and my department. Helen Whitney, former county supervisor from District 1 and community volunteer: Helen is known as a fair and independent person who truly cares about this county and I wanted to assure that the south county was represented in this working group too.
This committee will review the questions to assure that they are relevant to our department. They will also synthesize multiple questions about the same topic or issue and assure that the questions represent the scope and the breadth of our involvement in this case.
Please send your questions to:
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It is my duty to take every step necessary to fulfill our mission – SECURE THE PUBLIC’S TRUST. Transparency is an important part of that process. It is also my obligation to ensure that the members of this department are able to function effectively. They are both community members and service providers who must operate secure in the knowledge that the general public maintains confidence in them.
As a person who has responded to many tragedies, I know the impact that they can have on all parties involved.
Public safety officers often conduct a “debriefing” after a critical incident. This is a process of providing clarity where there are questions and healing where there are wounds. Asking and answering questions is a very important part of that process.
The fatal boat crash was a tragedy for all parties involved and for the many people who know and love them. The aftermath of this particular tragedy has made this a critical incident for the broader community as well.
Through this process we are inviting you to participate in a community wide debriefing of this critical incident and I look forward to the opportunity to answer your questions.
Rodney K. Mitchell is Lake County's sheriff, coroner and Office of Emergency Services director.
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