Lakeport man lauded at council meeting for helping police officer
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport has honored a man who stopped to help a police officer subdue the suspect in an assault on two elderly people at a city park.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen presented a commendation to Anthony Gladstein at the Lakeport City Council’s Sept. 1 meeting.
Rasmussen said on the evening of June 30, Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to Library Park to investigate the report of a suspect committing a violent assault on two senior citizens.
The suspect, later identified as 37-year-old Lakeport resident Todd Gary Ousterhout, fled the area on foot before the officers arrived. However, Rasmussen said the victims and other citizens pointed Ousterhout out and reported his direction of travel.
During a search of the area, Rasmussen said an officer found Ousterhout on N. Forbes Street, confronting him and giving him orders to comply.
Ousterhout resisted the officer and attempted to get away, and Rasmussen said a struggle ensued in which the officer and the suspect both ended up down on the street.
During that struggle, Rasmussen said Gladstein happened upon the situation as he was driving on N. Forbes Street. Gladstein stopped and yelled out to the officer to see if he needed help and the officer advised him that he did.
Gladstein immediately came to the officer’s aid as a backup officer arrived at the same time. Rasmussen said a short time later another citizen stopped his vehicle and also ran to the aid of the officers.
With the assistance of Gladstein and the second citizen – who Rasmussen said hasn’t yet been identified – the two officers were able to control Ousterhaut and get him handcuffed and secured.
Due to the assistance of Gladstein and the second citizen who stopped to help, serious injuries to all involved were avoided, Rasmussen said.
“Although we do not normally encourage or ask citizens to assist officers, especially in dangerous situations, in this case, we are thankful that Mr. Gladstein did assist,” said Rasmussen.
He said Gladstein’s actions and assistance “are not common but rather exceptional and therefore should be commended and recognized.”
Rasmussen offered Gladstein thanks on behalf of the Lakeport Police Department and the city of Lakeport, recognizing “that you took these actions without regard for your personal safety but rather putting the safety of others before yourself. We are proud to have you as a citizen of our community.”
Mayor George Spurr offered Gladstein his appreciation.
In return, Gladstein, who joined the meeting by phone, thanked the council.
Chief reports on police operations for the first half of the year
Also during the Sept. 1 meeting, Rasmussen presented a report on his department’s operations for the first two quarters of 2020.
The report showed improved response times on calls in the second quarter when compared to the first, with fewer arrests compared to 2019.
Rasmussen said the department has had a number of changes due to COVID-19, which has impacted the training hours.
Still, he said they completed “a commendable amount of training” in areas like autism recognition and response, which they did in response to community requests. Rasmussen said the agency deals a lot with people with developmental disabilities.
They also conducted deescalation and crisis training the previous week at the community center and had two trainees in the police academy. All told, Rasmussen said the department had more than 2,000 hours of training in the year’s first half.
He noted that the training included 120 hours of focus on the agency’s 700-page policy manual. Rasmussen said officers are required to do policy training every single day of the year.
The council approved Rasmussen’s report and also voted to direct Mireya Turner, the council’s delegate to the League of California Cities’ annual conference, to support a resolution calling for an amendment of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 to require social media companies to remove materials that promote criminal activities.
The council also approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to sign the statement of assurances and submit an application for State Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to purchase kitchen equipment for the Silveira Community Center.
City efforts help defeat AB 6
City Attorney David Ruderman thanked City Manager Kevin Ingram for his work over the previous weekend to help defeat AB 6, which would have blocked local governments from suing companies responsible for the opioid crisis unless they already had filed by Aug. 24.
In June, the city filed its own lawsuit against the responsible drug manufacturers, as Lake County News has reported.
Ruderman said Lakeport was part of a huge coalition of counties and cities that fought the bill.
He said Ingram got on the phone late Sunday to express his opposition to legislators.
On the last day of the legislative session, Aug. 31, Ruderman said the bill didn’t make it.
“My pleasure,” Ingram said of his efforts.
“It was a potential power grab by the attorney general,” Ruderman said.
The bill would reportedly have expanded the state attorney general’s powers and staff size, and directed those agencies that hadn’t filed suit by the August deadline to join him in attempting to reach a global settlement with manufacturers.
Rasmussen also reported that several police reform bills he considered problematic didn’t move forward this year, while a number of others that he didn’t think were concerning did make it through.
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