Nov 11, 2008 4:37 pm US/Pacific
Palo Alto Council Condemns Racial Profiling
PALO ALTO (BCN) ―
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Palo Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson.
CBS
The Palo Alto City Council Monday night passed a resolution to condemn racial profiling in response to a controversy created by comments Police Chief Lynne Johnson made at a recent public meeting, but some community members remain ill at ease over the issue.
Councilwoman Yoriko Kishimoto said the resolution is a "symbolic first step of the city of Palo Alto acknowledging that damage has been done and that we are very serious about assuring there absolutely will be zero tolerance for racial profiling."
Johnson made the comments at an Oct. 30 community meeting as she addressed a string of robberies in which suspects were described as black.
The police chief said she asked officers for "consensual contact" with black men seen in locations where robberies have occurred.
The comments resulted in an uproar from residents, church leaders and Stanford University students.
Forty to 50 people showed up to the City Council meeting last week to address the issue and about 10 people spoke to the issue at Monday night's meeting.
Kishimoto said speakers shared personal stories of how they had been pulled over by officers as a result of racial profiling.
In addition to unanimously passing the resolution Monday night, the City Council approved a motion by Councilman Yiaway Yeh to have a quarterly report on whether there are signs of racial profiling during traffic stops in the city, Kishimoto said. The city had previously conducted the report quarterly, but it was later made biannual.
Patricia Foster, mayor of neighboring East Palo Alto, called the resolution against racial profiling "meaningless," saying Palo Alto already has policy prohibiting racial profiling.
"The march was just the beginning," Foster said of a Sunday protest in which hundreds of participants walked from East Palo Alto to Palo Alto City Hall. "We will continue to monitor the actions of that (police) department and the City Council."
Foster said attendees at the weekend protest called on Palo Alto to work to have a more diverse police force. Additionally, they urged the city to have an ombudsman who reports to the City Council.
Johnson has made public apologies since the Oct. 30 meeting, including a public letter in which she said her statements were "misconstrued" and an apology at last week's City Council meeting.
Johnson said at last Monday's council meeting she would develop a multi-faceted plan to expand her outreach efforts to various city communities with the goal of making everyone feel safe and welcome in the city, Palo Alto police spokesman Agent Dan Ryan said.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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