Ferguson named new Cloverdale Police chief
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A local law enforcement veteran has been named the new chief of police for the city of Cloverdale in neighboring Sonoma County.
Lt. Jason Ferguson of the Lakeport Police Department has been hired by Cloverdale, where he will start work Aug. 5 and be sworn in on Aug. 14.
His last day with the Lakeport Police Department – where he has worked for nearly 21 years – is Friday. The department held a farewell barbecue for him on Thursday.
“It was a professional opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” Ferguson told Lake County News, noting that the city of Lakeport has taken good care of him over the years.
“It’s a huge loss, but at the same time I’m happy for him to get this opportunity,” said Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen, noting that Ferguson has been an outstanding second-in-command and leader for the department.
Rasmussen added, “I consider it a badge of honor to have been so involved in training him over the years that he could go from our department and take over another department.”
Cloverdale’s police department has been headed since last summer by interim Chief Bob Stewart, the retired chief of Cotati, who took over when then-chief Stephen Cramer went on medical leave. Cramer retired in December and died in February after a long battle with cancer.
Ferguson, 49, started his law enforcement career with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in January 1996 as a correctional officer.
He joined the Lakeport Police Department in June of 1998 as a reserve level two officer, hired by then-Chief Tom Engstrom.
“I had really good luck stealing correctional officers,” Engstrom told Lake County News in 2012.
Ferguson moved into a patrol officer position in September 1998. The following January, the department sent him to the police academy; he graduated in May of 1999.
Then-Chief Kevin Burke promoted Ferguson to sergeant in 2007 and in 2012 Rasmussen named him lieutenant. During his 2012 promotion ceremony, Rasmussen administered the oath, as Engstrom, by then a councilman, looked on.
Engstrom told Ferguson after he took his lieutenant’s oath, “I did one good thing when I was chief and that was hire you.”
Rasmussen said Ferguson has been integral to the department in numerous ways, serving as school resource officer and later overseeing the program. He’s also managed officer training, served on the countywide narcotics task force, supervised Lakeport Police’s move to its new headquarters on South Main Street, and has written agreements and contracts with the city and other agencies, such as the Lakeport Unified School District.
Altogether, Ferguson has more than 2,500 hours in formal Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training-certified training, which Rasmussen said doesn’t count the noncertified training he’s also taken.
Rasmussen said he had trained Ferguson throughout his time with the agency. In recent years, as part of the agency’s succession plan, Rasmussen’s goal was for Ferguson to be able to take over as police chief when he retired.
However, the two men are close in age and likely to retire at the same time, and Rasmussen was not planning to retire in the near future. Then the opportunity in Cloverdale came up for Ferguson.
Ferguson said he began testing for the job in April, with the interviews in May. The mayor and a council member were part of the hiring panel and offered input on the process, with City Manager/City Clerk David Kelley making the hiring decision. Kelley also negotiated the employment contract with Ferguson.
Cloverdale city officials said Kelley was out on vacation this week so he couldn’t be reached for comment.
Lake County News reached out to interim Chief Stewart, who declined to comment on Ferguson’s hire.
The initial offer was made to Ferguson in May. But before the job offer could become official, several other steps needed to be included, including the involved background, psychological and medical evaluations that peace officers go through during the hiring process.
Since then, Ferguson said he has met with most of the Cloverdale Police staff, including the executive management team.
Ferguson said he had wanted to take the opportunity to lead his own law enforcement organization, and the one that he will take over next month will be similar in some ways to the one he’s leaving.
The Cloverdale Police Department has 13 sworn officer positions, the same as Lakeport Police, he said.
The main difference is that Cloverdale is larger than Lakeport, with an estimated population of 9,100 residents, according to the city of Cloverdale. Lakeport’s most recent US Census population estimate was 4,766.
He’ll also get a large boost in pay. In June, the Lakeport City Council voted to establish a police lieutenant and captain job range at $6,965 to $8,466 per month for a lieutenant and $7,679 to $9,334 for a captain; the Cloverdale Police chief’s job range as advertised is $125,142 to $151,767.
Ferguson has visited Cloverdale in recent months to get a feel for the community and take part in events.
He’s due to be introduced at the community’s National Night Out event on Aug. 6, the day after he starts work.
Seeking a successor
As for the process to find Ferguson’s successor, on Thursday the city posted a recruitment flier online for a lieutenant or captain. Rasmussen said the position is available both to current police staff and outside applicants.
In the short term, while that recruitment moves forward, at Tuesday’s Lakeport City Council meeting Rasmussen will ask for approval of a resolution appointing Gerardo Gonzalez as interim police lieutenant.
Gonzalez retired in 2016 from the Willits Police chief job. He has more than 30 years of experience, Rasmussen said.
He joined the city in 2018 as a part-time level one reserve officer. “He wanted to stay active in law enforcement so I brought him on as a reserve,” according to Rasmussen.
With Rasmussen estimating that it will take six months to fill Ferguson’s job, he’s asking to have Gonzalez fill the job for that amount of time. Gonzalez is a CalPERS retiree and can work up to 960 hours per year.
Rasmussen said Gonzalez will work about 25 hours a week, and will cover administrative duties while the recruitment process takes place.
Outside of Ferguson’s departure, Rasmussen said that he’s fully staffed, with one new officer hired on Monday, another coming on next week and a third now in his eighth week of training.
He said he and Ferguson will continue to work together in various capacities – both Cloverdale and Lakeport are part of the 13-city Redwood Empire Municipal Insurance Fund – and Rasmussen said he expects he’ll be calling Ferguson frequently to ask questions about various administrative issues he was handling.
Rasmussen said it’s a credit to the Lakeport Police Department and the city that Ferguson was ready and could take the opportunity to become Cloverdale’s chief.
He said the new job is giving Ferguson the opportunity to lead and make positive changes in another community.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.