A couple of weeks ago a Clearlake city councilwoman publicly decried the use of a small budget surplus on salary raises for city employees and instead suggested the money be used to shore up the understaffed city police department, which might help a little but ignores the basic fact that the Clearlake Police Department is designed to fail.

The police department has several major problems hindering its success, but the biggest by far is the fact that there has never been a viable plan put forward by the city council to deal with the core issue (money), and instead they have tried to patch together a skeleton force when the city is in desperate need of a small army of officers.

They need so many more officers (realistically, about a dozen), that there is no possible way they could ever hope to be able to afford it using the city's money.

Making matters worse, there is no small town police force that can be effective when it has far more support and command staff than patrolmen, or when it pays its chief nearly $190,000 per year in salary and benefits – both are an obscene waste of money.

To ensure that none of this is able to change the city has burdened itself with a ridiculously generous retirement program for the police that is a ticking time bomb waiting to sink the city in red ink.

Add this to the epicenter of crime in Lake County and you have institutionalized failure with no relief in sight.

By outsourcing the policing to the Lake County Sheriff's Office the city would save nearly all the money it currently spends on five dispatchers, a secretary, the chief and command staff, plus it would save further on its suicidal retirement plan – forever.

The savings (at least $600,000-$700,000 per year excluding the retirement plan), would be substantial and the city should negotiate a deal with the county that will guarantee to put more patrolmen on the street while saving itself from its crippling obligation to fund its retirement plan.

Why should those of us who live outside the city care? Because bad PR for Clearlake affects all of us whose financial success is tied to the image of our county, whether it's from marketing our fruit, nuts and wine, or in the tourism, real estate or investment sectors.

The drugs and violence centered in Clearlake oftentimes spills out into adjoining communities and the city is too large to fail as nearly one-in-four of our citizens live there – they will drag us all down if they stay on their present course.

Their retirement plan also put pressure on Lakeport and the county to follow suit, with disastrous results in Lakeport that are still being dealt with.

We all need the city to be safe and prosperous and must commit ourselves to achieving that goal now, not in some distant future.

It will be hard to change any of this as those with a vested interest in the status quo will fight tooth and nail to hang on and we have seen the city council put pride ahead of common sense in the past, but to not change is to ensure continued failure.

Here is the challenge to the city council: show us the numbers, publicly PROVE to us the way you are spending money on policing is the most efficient means possible and nothing could be saved or improved by outsourcing, if you can't do that then start the process to fix the problem.

Philip Murphy lives in Lakeport, Calif.

The crash occurred shortly before 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 19, at the intersection of Highway 53 and Dam Road, according to interim Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen.

Clausen said Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to the scene where they found an off-duty emergency medical technician was already on scene and providing first aid to a solo rider of a Honda Motorcycle, 53-year-old Brian Chatfield of Clearlake.

An investigation determined that Chatfield was riding his motorcycle northbound on Highway 53 approaching the intersection of Dam Road, Clausen said.

Jeremy Schenck, 29, of Clearlake was traveling southbound on Highway 53 and making a left turn onto Dam Road as he entered into the intersection with a green light. Clausen said Schenck was making his turning movement and was into the intersection when Chatfield collided with the passenger side of Schenck’s vehicle.

Chatfield was transported to local hospital where he was pronounced deceased by medical personal, Clausen said.

According to a member of Chatfield's family, he was an experienced motorcyclist who also taught riding courses.

The investigation is ongoing and all witnesses were interviewed at the scene, Clausen said.

Police asked anyone else has any information regarding the traffic collision to please contact Officer Alan Collier of the Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251.

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The site at 675 Lakeport Blvd., where the new Lakeport courthouse is proposed to be built, viewed from the Vista Point overlook on Monday, June 20, 2011. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Monday state and local officials made a site visit to the property that will be the home of Lake County's new courthouse in order to get a sense of how the building's proposed placement could affect the viewshed.

Members of the Courthouse Project Advisory Committee gathered for about a half-hour at the Lake County Chamber of Commerce offices at the Vista Point overlook to survey the site at 675 Lakeport Blvd., where the state intends to build the $53 million project.

Members of the state Administrative Office of the Courts, including Rona Rothenberg, FAIA, senior manager, Administrative Office of the Courts, Office of Court Construction and Management, and Project Manager Anne Ording traveled from San Francisco to meet with the committee.

Present at the site visit were Lake County Superior Court judges Richard Martin, Stephen Hedstrom, Andrew Blum and David Herrick; Ruth Valenzuela of state Assemblyman Wes Chesbro's office; state Sen. Noreen Evan's district representative, Jeff Tyrrell; Supervisor Anthony Farrington; county Public Services Director Kim Clymire; Lakeport officials including City Manager Margaret Silveira, City Engineer Scott Harter and Community Development/Redevelopment Director Richard Knoll; Lake County Chamber Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton; and a number of other community members.

After the committee viewed some initial drawings and possible placements for the building at its April meeting, Farrington – who is a member of the group – raised objections to a proposal to place the building on the north side of the property.

Farrington has said that he believes that northern scheme's placement will block the viewshed from the Vista Point overlook.

He has since written a guest commentary on the matter and addressed the matter at Board of Supervisors meetings and at a Lakeport City Council meeting, during which he said he would rather not have the project at all than see it block Vista Point's view.

To illustrate the potential view obstruction, sheets of black plastic attached to 2-by-4 boards were held up at the edge of the overlook. It was pointed out that the actual building's roof would be about 60 feet out from the property edge.

It also wasn't entirely clear how far into the view the building would go, although the building isn't supposed to obstruct a “cone of vision” easement instituted in the 1960s to protect the site.

The group reconvened at 2 p.m. for a meeting. Fulton said the indications were that the Administrative Office of the Courts is taking community members' concerns into account.

During a Courthouse Project Advisory Committee site visit on Monday, June 20, 2011, Black plastic held on 2-by-4 boards helped illustrate the height of the courthouse and how placement of it on the northern side of the property at 675 Lakeport Blvd. would block the Vista Point overlook. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

“The bottom line is, at the end of the meting, what they were saying was, even though we have this discussion going on, that the project is still actually a little bit ahead of the original time line,” said Fulton, adding that the state is hiring a new architect for the project.

Fulton said state officials anticipate coming back to the group's next meeting in September with preliminary drawings from the new architect.

“In the interim they're doing a lot of fact-finding and investigations based on our input,” she said.

Despite some concerns that had been raised locally that the project could be lost because of the pushback over the early discussions about the building's placement, Fulton said that, based on the statements made at the meeting, there's no indication from the state that the community will lose the much-needed courthouse.

She said there are some challenges for the property due to the slope, but said there was agreement that good engineering can overcome the challenges.

She said the Administrative Office of the Courts also acknowledged that the committee is a cohesive group, which will go a long way toward making the project a success.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport's 24th police chief was sworn in during the Lakeport City Council meeting on Tuesday.

Brad Rasmussen, 41, who has worked his way up through the department over a nearly 21-year period, took his oath from City Clerk Janel Chapman at the start of the meeting.

About 150 people came to see Rasmussen take his oath, packing the chamber and spilling out into the lobby.

In the audience were officers from Lakeport Police and California Highway Patrol, police staff and volunteers, Lake County District Attorney's Office staff including Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff, Lt. Brian Martin and Capt. Rob Howe of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Willits Police Chief Gerry Gonzalez, Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells, members of the Lakeport Kiwanis Club and Early Lake Lions, of which Rasmussen is a member and Rasmussen's family.

Looking on were his immediate predecessors – Kevin Burke, who left last October to take the chief's job at Healdsburg Police, and Tom Engstrom, who retired in 2005 and was elected to the city council last November.

Rasmussen, who Burke had promoted to lieutenant, took on additional leadership duties during the 21 months that Burke did double duty both as police chief and interim city manager.

When Burke left Lakeport last fall, Rasmussen was appointed interim chief and acted in that capacity until City Manager Margaret Silveira, who has the hiring authority for the police chief's job, offered him the job permanently on May 18, as Lake County News has reported.

He'll lead a department that, counting the chief's job, will have 10 full-time officer positions in the 2011-12 budget.

After he took the oath, Rasmussen received a standing ovation from the gallery.

He told the group, “I am proud to be selected as the person to lead our police department,” adding he was excited to work with the department's dedicated and hardworking staff and volunteers.

Rasmussen thanked Silveira and the city council for their confidence and trust in selecting him as their next chief.

He also thanked his former chiefs – Engstrom, Burke and Jim Campbell – for their support, training, and the education and leadership opportunities they gave him to prepare him for becoming chief.

Additionally, Rasmussen offered his gratitude to his law enforcement colleagues both inside the department and around the county. “I appreciate the working relationships that we've had.”

He acknowledged the city's management team, noting, “It truly is a team effort here in Lakeport.”

Rasmussen continued, “I'd like to thank the members of our community for their positive support of our police department, and let them know that I plan to keep the goals and direction of the department focused at community-oriented policing, as well as keeping Lakeport as safe and as crime free as possible.”

He recognized his family's support of him working in a job that often interferes with their activities.

Rasmussen invited everyone to a reception afterward hosted by his wife, Karyn, at St. Mary Immaculate Parish Hall. “Hopefully, as soon as I get out of the council meeting I'll be up there.”

Silveira read a message from Gary Leonard, a regional training consultant with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, a retired San Jose Police captain and former police chief. Leonard wasn't able to attend but sent along his congratulations to Rasmussen.

“I am impressed with your chief and department,” Leonard wrote. “I am glad you and your city council have made the decision to keep Brad as the permanent chief. He demonstrates professionalism and real understanding of his and your department's role in providing public safety for Lakeport that will continue to improve the quality of life there.”

After the swearing-in Rasmussen had to stay on for the final budget hearing and presentation of an emergency operations plan. Once the emergency plan was accepted Rasmussen was able to leave to join the party.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

From left, Orlando Lopez and Paul Braden were taken into custody by Clearlake Police on murder charges on Monday, June 20, 2011. Lake County Jail photos.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH CONFIRMATION OF BRADEN'S CONNECTION TO THE CASE.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Monday the Clearlake Police Department arrested one of its identified persons of interest in a fatal Saturday night shooting that killed a child and left five other people wounded, and took another man into custody on similar charges in the case.

Orlando Joseph Lopez, 23, of Clearlake Oaks was arrested by Clearlake Police Officer Mike Ray at 5:30 p.m. Monday, according to Lake County Jail booking records.

Lopez was arrested for one count of murder, and five counts each of assault with a firearm on a person and attempted murder. His bail was set at $500,000.

Another man who Clearlake Police hadn't so far identified publicly in connection with the case was taken into custody early on Monday for similar charges.

Officer Mike Ray arrested Paul William Braden, 21, of Clearlake Oaks just after midnight on Monday. He was booked on single counts of murder, assault with a firearm on a person, attempted murder plus a felony parole violation, which triggers a no-bail hold.

Braden had previously been taken into custody by the Lake County Sheriff's Office in May for a felony probation violation, according to jail records.

On Tuesday morning Clearlake Police confirmed that Braden's arrest was a result of the investigation into the shooting.

In a report issued earlier in the afternoon, interim Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen had identified Lopez as the second “person of interest” in the case after identifying the first, 29-year-old Kevin Ray Stone of Clearlake, the day before.

The shooting incident – with the most victims of any shooting case in the city's history, police confirmed – occurred shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday at a location on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.

Four-year-old Skyler Rapp was fatally wounded, and his mother, 22-year-old Desiree Kirby, remained in critical condition at UC Davis Medical Center on Monday, according to hospital officials.

Police on Monday also identified the other shooting victims, including 25-year-old Ross Sparks; his brother Andrew, 23; 19-year-old Ian Griffith; and a 15-year-old male who police did not name.

UC Davis Medical Center spokesperson Dorsey Griffith said Monday that Ross Sparks had been discharged, his brother was in fair condition and Griffith was in good condition. Details of the juvenile taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital were not immediately available.

A candlelight vigil for Skyler Rapp and his family is planned for 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, in Clearlake's Redbud Park.

Booking records indicate that both Lopez and Braden are set to appear in court for the first time that same day.

Still sought in connection to the case is Stone, who is described as a white male adult, 6 feet, 1 inches tall, weighing approximately 165 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

If anyone knows of the whereabouts of either man they are asked to contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251. Callers may remain anonymous.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Judge David Herrick will appear on “Lake County Magazine” from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 22.

Herrick will discuss the courthouse plans, the location, the reasons for selecting the property on Lakeport Boulevard and more.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington will appear on “Voices of Lake County” from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday, June 24.

Farrington, who has raised concerns about the siting plans for the courthouse, will address those and other issues on the show.