LAKE COUNTY — Lake County Correctional Officer”s Association (LCCOA) President Michael Silva has announced that union lawyers representing the LCCOA have been authorized to sue the County of Lake and the Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) in an attempt to force the recognition of Lake County”s Correctional Officers as California Peace Officers.
According to an advisory message issued Monday evening by Lake County Sheriff”s Captain James Bauman, as Sheriff Frank Rivero was preparing to issue new ID cards to his staff shortly after taking office, he noticed the previously-issued cards erroneously identified the correctional officers as peace officers. Upon further inquiry, he became aware that, prompted by their incorrect identification as peace officers, the custody staff routinely carried sidearms while on duty, to and from work and in other settings.
The LCSO advisory reported that based on the fact that Lake County correctional officers have not had the state-mandated minimum training for peace officers, Rivero believed this posed a substantial and unacceptable risk of liability to the county and its taxpayers. Rivero said, “Should a Lake County Correctional Officer use their firearm on duty or engage in any actions reserved for peace officers, other than the process of transporting prisoners, they would be reliant solely on having been issued a Sheriff”s Office Peace Officer ID card to justify acting in the capacity of a peace officer.”
Rivero notified Silva that he would be issuing new ID cards to correctional staff that properly identified them as correctional officers. He also instructed the jail commander to inform correctional staff that they were not “peace officers” as defined in section 830.1 of the California Penal Code. Rivero”s notifications were met with a “Cease and Desist” demand letter authored by the LCCOA”s lawyers.
The LCSO advisory added that County Counsel Anita Grant offered to meet and confer but had not received a response. “Although Sheriff Rivero and County Counsel have expressed interest in meeting with the LCCOA to discuss the matter, they are confident the county”s position is prudent and reasonable,” Bauman stated in the LCSO advisory.
