LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday night, the Lakeport City Council's midyear budget review included consideration – and approval – of appropriations requests from the city’s police chief to purchase new equipment to keep his officers and the community safe.
The new tools will give the Lakeport Police Department increased crime mapping capability and video coverage of officers on the job.
The council approved Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen's request to contribute $15,000 to District Attorney Don Anderson's planned purchase of a three-dimensional crime mapping program.
Rasmussen told the council that the funds came from a Board of State and Community Corrections grant following the state's correctional realignment. “It's extra money that's designed to support us in increased felony operations,” he said.
Anderson also has asset forfeiture funds to put toward the purchase, according to Rasmussen.
In a followup interview with Lake County News, Rasmussen said Anderson approached the local law enforcement chiefs to ask them to contribute to the purchase.
Normally, the state grant funds are used for felony enforcements. In this case, Rasmussen and Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen – who receive the funding jointly – decided how best to spend the funds, and agreed to join Anderson's effort.
Rasmussen said two staff members from each agency will receive training on how to use the program.
“It will support prosecution of serious crimes,” said Rasmussen.
Anderson is set to make a presentation to the Board of Supervisors on the program at an upcoming meeting, Rasmussen said.
The other appropriations request that got the green light from the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday was for $35,000 to purchase new mobile audio video units – or MAVs – for patrol vehicles and vest cams to be worn by Lakeport Police officers.
Rasmussen proposed to use $20,000 in asset forfeiture money, asking for an additional $15,000 from the city's general fund reserve.
“It's getting to the point where everything needs to be recorded,” in order to gather evidence, protect officers and guard the city against liability, said Rasmussen.
In the recent case in which a burglary suspect rammed a patrol car, the patrol vehicle’s MAV recorded that incident, Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen told Lake County News that a substantial portion of the $35,000 will be used for five new MAV units, three of which will replace nonfunctional units, with two patrol vehicles getting the units for the first time.
Rasmussen said the vest cameras for his officers are a brand new tool for his agency, and something he's been talking to City Manager Margaret Silveira about for several years.
The cameras, which are about the size of a pager and are turned off and on with a sliding switch, are less expensive than the MAVs, costing about $300 each, Rasmussen said.
He's planning to purchase Taser's Axon model vest camera, which has a 130-degree view and works well in low light conditions.
Rasmussen will order 13 of them to cover his sworn staff – from full-timers to part-time and volunteer officers.
The accompanying docking station is priced at $1,700. Rasmussen said the vest cams have enough battery life to cover a 12-hour shift. Afterward, officers will dock the cameras, with the docking station both charging them and downloading the video wirelessly.
Rasmussen said the cameras will “provide valuable evidence to support prosecution of crimes.”
While MAVs only pick up activities near patrol cars, the vest cams will record what is occurring in front of the officer, Rasmussen said.
The city of Lakeport belongs to the Redwood Empire Municipal Insurance Fund, or REMIF. Rasmussen said the organization and its attorneys have been recommending that member agencies use tools like the vest cams to help reduce liability.
Rasmussen said the new MAVs were ordered on Wednesday, and he's in the process of ordering the Axon vest cams.
He doesn't believe any other local law enforcement agencies use the vest cams, adding, “It's definitely time that equipment be in place.”
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