Police issues bubble up to council Police issues bubble up to council (February 02, 2005)

Freeman proposes making policing one of city's Top Five priorities

by Bill D'Agostino

Discussion about the increasing tension between police and the community reached a new level Saturday, when council members attempted to make it a top priority during a retreat.

Police and community relations have been a controversial topic in recent months due to several high-profile cases accusing officers of racial profiling. Saturday's discussion on the issue culminated when Councilwoman Hillary Freeman wanted "policing" designated as one of the city's "Top Five" priorities.

The Saturday retreat was primarily scheduled to decide which city programs and goals the city will focus on this year. The list is used by administrators to set goals and decide where to expend resources.

Although Freeman's request did not get approved, administrators insisted police-community relations would continue to be a main city focus.

"We're looking at a variety of things with how to proactively deal with concerns that have been raised," City Manager Frank Benest said after the meeting. Specifics will be revealed later in the month, he said. The city manager will also attend the next meeting of the Human Relations Commission, on Feb. 10, when the commission has its regular meeting with the police chief.

As Freeman proposed making police issues a stated city priority, she said that the city manager's vague promises weren't enough.

"I wish I could just say, 'OK Frank, I trust you.' But I can't go that far," Freeman said. "I think that we can't speak with a forked tongue."

Using less combative language, Councilwomen LaDoris Cordell and Judy Kleinberg appeared to back Freeman's request for policing issues as a priority.

"I don't want a group to feel disaffected in this community," Cordell said. "I get a sense that this is happening."

Both Freeman and Cordell are black; six of the other seven council members are white.

The issue of racial tension between officers and the community has been a growing concern for some police watchdogs. A few members of the public spoke on Saturday, lambasting the police department and asking for an independent review board and for constant videotaping of officers.

In March, two Palo Alto officers will face felony charges for allegedly beating a black man who was sitting in his car near El Camino Real in July 2003.

Other council members were more supportive of the city manager and the police chief. Mayor Jim Burch said he hoped people would keep an open mind on the larger issue of police-community relations.

"I think you can't go in assuming there is a huge problem," he said after the meeting. "There are two sides to every story."

The council voted 6 to 3 to keep the city's "Top Five" priorities the same. They will continue to be city finances, affordable housing, infrastructure, alternative transportation/traffic calming and land-use planning. (Freeman had also asked for libraries to become a "Top Five" priority.)

Councilwoman Dena Mossar said that while the issue of police oversight is an important one, the list of the city's "Top Five" priorities is used to coordinate large projects.

"The policing issue is of a different nature," she said. "It has a narrower focus. It's focused on one specific department."

After voting on the "Top Five" priorities, council members wrote what accomplishments they hoped to achieve underneath headings of each of the five priorities.

On all five oversized sheets of paper, Freeman wrote "Policing" with a black marker, even though that milestone didn't actually fit under any of the five adopted categories.

Other milestones written on the large sheets of paper were revamping Charleston and Arastradero roads to ease school commutes and traffic, creating a "sustainable plan" to keep/attract businesses, and completing the city's update of its zoning laws.

Using a purple marker, Cordell illustrated some of the possible goals she wrote, drawing a book and a police building, highlighting her desire to upgrade the city's libraries and police headquarters.

Even with the city facing a $5.2 million budget shortfall, officials said they want to make headway on those and other tricky issues.

"There's a side of us that needs to be practical and there's a side of us that needs to be visionary," Councilwoman Yoriko Kishimoto said.

Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.

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