Sheriff Allman retiring at the end of the year
Sheriff Tom Allman announced today that he will retire on Dec. 28 after 13 years in office. He was elected by the voters in 2006 and took office in 2007.
In an interview at the Daily Journal offices, Allman discussed his career as sheriff and said he will ask the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors to appoint UnderSheriff Matt Kendall to replace him permanently, not in an ‘acting’ capacity. Kendall would then face election in three years.
Allman said he planned to retire at the last election but held on as he didn’t think Kendall was quite ready. He does now, adding that he feels satisfied that there are capable people to continue to operate the department.
“At the end of the day we did OK, it’s time for the reins to be handed over,” Allman said.
Allman said being sheriff is a complex but wonderful job.
“I love what I do,” he said, but “sometimes you’re the Maytag repairman … lonely.”
Allman discussed some of the extreme events during his tenure that challenged him and the department. They include:
– The 134 lightning fires that broke out during the summer of 2008, which required integrating law enforcement and fire services, perhaps for the first time.- Having to layoff five deputies in 2009, three of which have been restored to duty.- The 2011 search for Aaron Bassler, a killer who led the Sheriff’s department on a month long chase around the Fort Bragg woods until he was finally found and shot by Bay Area law enforcement in the area to help find the fugitive.- The 2014 death of Deputy Ricky Fiorentino who was shot and killed by a suspect in a case of abduction and store shooting.- The deadly wildfires of 2017.- The investigation of the Hart family murder-suicides in 2018.- And the recent power shutoffs by PG&E which sent parts or all of the county into the dark. Allman’s time as sheriff spans three boards of supervisors and three county CEOs. Allman gives current county CEO Carmel Angelo an A-plus rating.
“Carmel is a workhorse. If not for her our reserve would not be where it is. She does her job and does it real well,” Allman said, adding that he either met with or talked to Angelo every single Monday, a communication that helped him keep his department funded and working. He noted that the Hart family investigation cost his department some $40,000 which he didn’t have but which Angelo found for him to continue the work.
“I can’t name a situation where we haven’t done something because of (a lack of) money.” he said.
Allman has also worked with a variety of Lake, Humboldt and Sonoma county sheriffs and three California governors.
He liked former Governor Jerry Brown and says he still texts with him on occasion. It was Brown, he said, who facilitated getting the $25 million for the new jail wing. Former Mendocino County congressional representative Mike Thompson was “great” Allman said and current Congressman Jared Huffman “always calls and asks ‘What do you need?’” when emergencies arise. Allman said he would be talking with Governor Newsom later this month about getting more funding for vocational training at the jail. Allman said vocational training is a must as it does help rehabilitation of inmates. Currently the jail has a baking program in cooperation with Schat’s bakery, a resume writing course, and help with inmates getting GEDs (high school equivalency degrees). When he became Sheriff there were 325 inmates at the jail. Today there are 290. Recidivism is “a big deal” Allman said of inmates who keep showing up at the jail. “I know 10 percent (of incoming inmates) by name or family,” he said.
Measure B, the sales tax voters approved to build and operate a psychiatric health facility in the county is still one of Allman’s primary missions. Even after retirement he wants to continue to represent the Sheriff’s office on the Measure B public committee and work to improve mental health treatment in the county. Spurred to action by the 2005 suicide of his own brother, Allman almost singlehandedly got the measure onto the ballot and convinced voters to approve it. A mental health training center using the some of the funding will be up and running at the former Redwood Valley Elementary School in January. In fact, in 2020 all sheriff’s patrol functions will move to that location and away from the administration building on Low Gap Road. Moving patrol to the old Redwood Valley school will allow them much quicker access to Highway 101 and Highway 20 for patrol purposes. The jail and detective functions will remain on Low Gap Road.
During his 13 years as Sheriff, Allman also said there were disappointments. Unsolved homicides continues to worry him. “We talk about them every week,” he said.
Filling resident deputy positions in the outlying areas of the county is also a big worry. Allman believes having resident deputies are the “key to a safe community.” He wishes he could have a resident deputy in all the small towns dotting the county. It’s all about “time and money” including quality and safe housing for recruits. In Covelo for instance he envisions a three-home compound of sorts that could include a deputy and his or her family plus perhaps housing for local teachers. But the price tag is $1 million. Covelo, he noted, is not really the dangerous place it has a reputation for.
“Ninety-five percent of the people in Covelo I would buy a used car from or let babysit my kids,” he said.
Overall, Allman believes the county is a safe place to live.
“There are a handful of people I keep my eye on, for their own safety” and the department keeps tabs on residents they know can be a threat.
The county averages nine homicides a year but violent crime generally is down and if you take marijuana crimes out of the equation, crime is lower in Mendocino County than elsewhere, Allman said. Putting the Nixle alert system and reverse 911 into place in the county has worked well informing local residents of things they need to know.
While Allman has made up his mind to step aside, “I hope I’m not going to regret retiring,” he admitted. “There is nothing better than being Sheriff of a rural county.”
By: K.C. MEADOWS
Source: Advocate-News
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