HRC demoralized by resignations HRC demoralized by resignations (June 10, 2005)

Two leave commission, in part, because of new role as police review board

by Bill D'Agostino

The Palo Alto Human Relations Commission, which recently became the city's official police review board, is reeling from the resignations of two of its members -- both of whom left in part because of the workload associated with the new role.

One commissioner said she was demoralized by the resignations and worried the new duty was obscuring the group's other important responsibilities. Traditionally, the commission responds to allegations of discrimination, aids local nonprofits and promotes diversity.

"If you don't want to work on police issues, the HRC may not be the place to be these days," Commissioner Eve Agiewich said.

Both members who resigned -- Valerie Menager and Lakiba Pittman -- insisted the new police review role was not the only reason they left, but said it was the tipping point. Neither was at the special meeting in late April when the commission reluctantly voted to accept the City Council's proposal.

"It gives me a sense that we're not all together," Agiewich said. "I've been feeling that way anyway, especially around the police issue. This just sort of underscores that. I'm really sorry this is happening."

Menager, a first-term commissioner, said she made her decision last month after studying the commission's proposed future agendas and saw that most meetings had significant time earmarked for police matters. She believed she had neither the expertise on those issues nor the time to develop that proficiency.

"I just felt the city deserved somebody more astute than me," Menager said.

Pittman, who resigned last week, said she was already feeling burned out, a sentiment that increased with the addition of the new role. She reapplied to the commission earlier this year, and was reappointed in March.

During recent meetings, Pittman, the only African-American on the commission, had been one of the members most critical of police.

The City Council asked the commission to accept the new responsibility earlier this year, following a series of controversial incidents that brought attention to the local police department's treatment of suspects of color.

The most high profile of those was the July 2003 beating, by two Asian American officers, of 59-year-old Albert Hopkins, a black resident. The two officers, Michael Kan and Craig Lee, accepted a plea bargain this week to avoid a second criminal trial, after a jury was unable to reach a verdict this spring. Kan and Lee each pled no contest to an infraction, for unlawful fighting, and paid a $250 fine.

The jury is still out, Menager said, about how successful the commission will be in its ability to review police policies, protocols and actions.

"It's all up to the chief and the rest of the police department," she said. It'll be a success "if they're willing to follow suggestions from the commission."

The City Council is scheduled to fill the two vacancies in July. Applications for the posts, which are due June 30, can be downloaded at www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/clerk/hrc.html or picked up at the City Clerk's office in City Hall.

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

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