CLEARLAKE >> The lucky Linda Rouland, of Chester and a past resident of Lake County, was the winner of a red 1978, 25-year anniversary edition t-top Chevrolet Corvette in a raffle, which raised $9,800 to outfit Clearlake Police Department (CPD) officers with point-of-view, or body, cameras.
The raffle was held at the beginning the Clearlake City Council meeting on Thursday, with around 40 people present in anticipation, according to Bob Kieo of Bob”s Vacuum.
Over the past couple of months, Sam Polo, the owner of the car and Main Street Bar & Grill, and Kieo managed to sell 100 tickets at $100 a piece to the public. $200 of the ticket sales were used to finance the raffle, according to Kieo.
“We”re really appreciative of Sam Polo and all his support,” CPD Chief Craig Clausen said. “The car was a very generous donation and the money will go toward purchasing body cameras that we wouldn”t have otherwise been able to afford.”
The CPD has yet to pull the trigger on purchasing the cameras as it”s still in the process of testing various models. Clausen said it”s not just the cameras that will be a factor in their decision, but also how the audio and video data from the cameras is stored. “We”re talking terabytes of information,” Clausen said. “Some units offer cloud-based service and others you have to purchase the hardware and software to maintain the data.”
Data from the body cameras will be kept for at least a year, as required by law.
Outfitting the department with the cameras is expected to cost between $12,000 and $14,000, according to CPD Sargent Martin Snyder. Polo is stepping in again to help raise the remaining funds by hosting a tip-a-cop event at his restaurant this Friday beginning at 10 a.m. Clausen said officers will be assisting the restaurant in busing and serving tables for tips and expects to raise the remaining $3,000 needed.
Main Street Bar & Grill is located at 14084 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.
