Only 150 people marching? Glad it is over and the PAPD can get back to work. I hope this did not cost our city to much in overtime money for police and fire. Maybe we can bill EPA?!

What an underwhelming turnout, how many made it over the freeway?

typical EPA behavior- all talk, no commitment.

Well, by the time the crowd hit Cowper, it was at least 300 hundred, perhaps as much as 500. I was counting manually by eye, and couldn't quite keep up with the flux.

Nevertheless, one wonders why all these people are focusing on the crime of "racial profiling" while ignoring the much more serious crimes of robbery, murder, assault, larceny, and felony vandalism. Don't these protesters care about the civil rights and suffering of those who are victimized by violent crimes as well? Are they unwilling to acknowledge the reality that many of the recent crimes reported in Palo Alto have been committed by non-whites?

The myopic tone of this march is insensitive to the citizens of both Palo Alto and East Palo Alto and highly offensive to those of use who have been victimized by serious crime over the past couple of years.

Yes, they have a right to protest, but we have a right to be upset their convenient lack of concern for other victims of serious crime who, in contrast to someone pulled over or questioned inappropriately, will never be able to recover from the damage done to them.

I saw them march up to city hall. They looked like fools. All this did was inconvenience a ton of people just trying to get things done on a Sunday. Road blocks and detours.

The fact remains the person or persons committing the crimes were described as being Black. How can one ignore this fact when trying to solve the case. Our police chief should not lose her job over this.

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I am from Palo Alto, and I am hispanic. I am still shocked by the police chief remarks. I find it horrible the idea that she can get away with what she said. I think I should consider getting one of those T-shirts with the question, "Am I a suspect?"

Also, I am worried about my children. How can I tell keep teach them to be good citizens if they will be considered suspects just because of their race? Kids has started talking about the Police Chief remarks and actions at school. This for sure will affect many children. I am really sad that the Police Chief will be able to get away with what she said and her actions.

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it was all about the perceived racial injustices while NO ONE addressed what will be done about the daily crimes against palo altans, a more pressing need right now before someone gets seriously hurt.

One thing to note - from what I heard on my police scanner, there were some pedestrian marchers, but others came on buses - so, it wasn't a crowd of 300 marching down University, there were 3-4 additional buses.

This topic has been commented on to-death, but I'm going to throw my 2 cents in. Chief Johnson should step down, and possibly whoever she reports to as well. This thing got WAY out of hand, and never should have happened in the first place. This is why professional "spokespersons" are usually hired to communicate. Its practically impossible for someone to say something these days without offending half of those listening. Its sad, but its reality. Now, to pick up the pieces, we need to replace the chief with someone that has credibility.

As for the marchers, I respect that they held a totally peaceful march, and I appreciate some of what they are saying. However, East Palo Alto is simply in horrible shape. Its a tragedy, and its going on right next door to us. There are good people there, trying to raise kids, go to work and live their lives peacefully, while ducking the bullets of these degenerate, thug gang members. These marchers need to turn their focus away from Palo Alto, which isn't the problem, and towards the poverty, torn apart families, loss of hope and straying from simple morality that has plagued certain members of their community.

I bet tons of people in Palo Alto would love to help in whatever way we could - its in everyone's interest. What Chief Johnson inadvertently caused was a ridiculous, unconstructive "our town versus their town" flap. She might not have meant it, but it happened, and now we must pick up the pieces.

Time to move on. Let the PAPD get back to work.

I guess some folk just cannot tolerate a woman in authority. The Chief is just getting the leftovers from the anti-Palin, anti-Hillary demonstrations of the hollowness of the left regard for equality. Back on the plantation, uppity broads!

To Latina: Puleez. No one is teaching such a thing. Did you ever hear/read what the Chief actually said? She used the word consensual.

Check out the article in the Palo Alto Weekly.

The Chief never called for hard profiling. Your children will not be automatic suspects because of their race. Teach your children to be good law abiding citizens, to do well in school, to respect themselves and others and to be prepared to work hard for what they want in life and hopefully, they will have long productive happy lives. My children are mix race and that is what I taught them in spite of the popular party line bandied about periodically, and my kids walk these streets without fear of being viewed as suspects.

As victims, well that's another story lately.

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i am of mixed race to,and not everything my white reltives told me,was true.so just cause your kids are ''mixed race'' does speak for all mixed race people! we are no more homogenized than anyone else.no white person,even a white parent can speak for all.my white parent didnt care if i was attacked by racist whites in the neighborhood! no one speaks for mixed race people!

Yeah, this makes a lot of sense: Boycott downtown businesses because the Police are "suspected" of racial bias. Common! Where's the logic?!

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Let me get this right. First the sit-lie ordinance, so the unhoused people from Palo Alto move out (I haven's seen Victor Frost in front of Whole Foods, have you?). Now let's try to get all the Hispanics and Blacks to fell uncomfortable in their homes as well. I always saw Palo Alto as a multicultural diverse city. But I think people in power is trying really hard to change that. And, I wonder how happy will be the police chief if she is to catch Hispanics or Blacks doing anything wrong, so she can prove herself right. Way to go!

Primary source: check out the video on:

Web Link

It's hard to be mixed. Not even President-Elected Obama calls himself mixed, he calls himself African American. The word mixed itself is so weak. I never fully understood why there is no one stand out for the mixed people. And mixed does not have to be black and white, can b white and hispanic, black and hispanic, asian and black, asian and hispanic....

I'm posting a batch of photos (as I finish post-processing) here: Web Link

There were at the very least, a few hundred people, and probably more once we got to the Palo Alto city hall.

Count 'em Yourself, thank you for the video link!

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also,mix race people dont usually hate any races,cause they are all races usualy.many whites have indian background,elvis,the clintons,etc...

glad it's over. I don't see that many EPA shop in palo alto, not that many retailers in palo alto anyway.

[Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.] Chief Johnson was absolutely correct to instruct officers to target African Americans because they commit a disproportionate number of crimes in Palo Alto. If nerdy white guys were responsible for the crimes, I would say profile them. But, as it is, African Americans, Latinos, and Pacific Islanders need to be watched, especially when wearing suspicious clothing and acting suspiciously!

boycott? will have a devastating economic impact on ????

help me out here, who would care?

I however will continue to go to Home Depot and Ikea,

I'll take the shopping boycott if they throw in a crime boycott as part of the deal.

Weekly is overly censoring again. From what I can see they don't like us talking about the fact that East Palo Altans were urged not to shop here even though they are making that the headline.

I guess I didn't realize that you can be arrested for driving while black in Selma Alabama excuse me Palo Alto California. If you wear a "do dad" even more dangerous. In Palo Alto you don't need probable cause just suspected cause a new rendition of the fourth amendment ala our heroic Chief. But here again it was just a slip of the tongue and let's move on, forget about constitutional rights!!!
Thank goodness for the NAACP, our religious leaders and men and women of conscience.

I applaud those who march to protect the rights of all members of our community. They are the real heroes standing up for the minorities and all those of color. The Mayor and all major newspapers call for the resignation of Chief Johnson. Chief,do the community a favor and retire with your golden parachute.

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I was stopped and got a fix-it ticket for my rear car light being out. Another time, I was stopped on the freeway for having window tinting that was too dark. Both were fix-it tickets and both in the vicinity of Palo Alto. The first was reasonable. The second was over-kill. But I had to comply -- it was law. I didn't feel they were stopping ME as much as they noticed my CAR. The last time my brake light was out, a few months ago, I was grateful that someone driving next to me, got my attention and let me know.

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The Shadow: it used to be a LOT worse. The fact that there are very few blacks living in Palo Alto, while many live in East Palo Alto is not some sort of accident. We've got a history of using the threat of violence to actually evict blacks from Palo Alto. The more recent harassment is a low-level version of that.

People who want a much more detailed discussion than I can really provide in this kind of forum should check out Sundown towns : a hidden dimension of American racism by James W. Loewen from the library.

Here's the logic problem with this call for boycott. If the protesters really honestly believed there was true and rampant practice of racial profiling going on in Palo Alto (as their protest organizers are claiming), then they are not shopping here already, and they are teaching their kids that its not a safe place for law abiding people of color, and they stay away - already. So by calling for a boycott, it implies they shop regularly in Palo Alto now, meaning they aren't all that worried about coming to Palo Alto in the first place. Which means that THEY don't believe Palo Alto is thick with racism, anymore than Palo Altan's do.

The second logic problem is that there really isn't any shopping in Palo Alto in the first place! So what exactly are they planning on boycotting? Overpriced home decor from a few shops on University? Overpriced specialty groceries from Charleston or California ave? Overprices clothes at Stanford? News flash here - most Palo Altan's don't even shop in Palo Alto!

It all sounds to me like the protest, and the boycott call is nothing but grandstanding for media coverage by a few professional instigaters. Smart people of all colors from both sides of the freeway are going to be looking for real solutions, not meaningless grandstanding.

We need a new refrig and a new TV. Both of the old ones either don't work or are about
to die of old age. Also need things for the house. As of today I am boycotting Best Buys,
Home Depot, and Office Max in East Palo Alto. I'll spend the extra gas money to go some place else. I encourage Palo Altans to do likewise. It works both ways.
Years of alleged racial profiling? Give me a break. Palo Altans have endured years of increasing crime from who knows where. But the descriptions of the thugs are consistent. Chief Johnson DID NOT mention East Palo Alto. EPA should come down from its
righteous cloud and clean up its own turf.

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I completely support our police chief. The only problem was that she should have said she asked the officers to question people who met the description of the robbers and left it at that instead of explaining what that description was.

I support our police questioning people who meet the description of criminals, be they white, yellow, black, blond, red-haired, or wearing pink Mohawks.

After this march, I have less respect for EPA than I had before.

How about we end the Tinsley Program and give those school slots to property tax payers in Palo Alto-- It should have ended decades ago-- but in response to the boycott would be nice timing

Boycott our businesses and then more EPA residents will be out of work. Is that what they want?

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The fact that of the 16 violent crimes, only the 10 that were either African American or dark skinned were remembered & the vctims could not describe the other suspects is quite striking to me.

Two years ago on a visit to a friend in Palo Alto, I stopped to pick-up lunch. As I approached a small group of young white guys at the entrance, they let out a few derogatory remarks, and one actually spat at me. As I walked passed them, one put his foot out and tripped me. I was shocked that in full view of employees, passing citizens, and those having lunch, only one young woman attempted to offer assistance. In fact, not even the guy whose lap I fell into asked if I was okay.

After I asked for the police to be called, no one could remember what the offenders looked like - just a couple of kids being stupid. I wonder had they been darker if they would have been considered 'stupid kids', would they have been easier to remember???

It seems that Palo Altans have a blind eye for anyone lighter than 'dark'. Based on many of the prior comments, it looks like racism, hate, and bigotry are alive and well and living in Palo Alto!

As for the march, looks like it brought out the truth...

As a victim, I would never want all white people detained in my honor...

This march is absolutely absurd! To call what the chief said 'racial profiling' is a bunch of people on their high horse looking for an excuse to vent! She merely stated the facts as any food citizen should do to be on the lookout for perpetrators. It's time for EPA to take responsibility for the condition of its community and stop blaming it on a community that has worked hard and prides itself on its sense of community. Come on folks, help out solving the crimes along WITH Palo Alto and you'll rather than look the other way and you'll be amazed what it does for both communities!

Good point - maybe EPA can boycott PA's schools too, that would be handy. And of course if the shoppers and students are boycotting, then the criminals will be that much easier to spot. Brilliant! Thank you EPA.

Economic pressure is in order. The Chief's comments were racially insensitive. She need to retire gracefully or be shown the door.

I will boycott Home Depot and Ikea and that second hand shop, from now on. I will encourage my friends to do the same, including all contractors that they hire. I have spent some pleasant evenings at Four Seasons, but that is the end of it for me.

I agree with George, EPA is in no position to lecture anybody on anything.

We just came together as a nation to elect a African American president and now this. As the nation comes together we are sniping at each other. I feel East Palo Alto has totally blown this out of proportion, perhaps as a result of this election and a new feeling of empowerment . Obama is about bringing people together and I think that is what we need to begin doing. I also agree with Walter E Wallis and his comment about women in power. There are those people can't wait to take them out.

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I knew this march would pit PA against EPA. You can tell by most of the comments on this board. This was not a smart move by EPA.

Until we start confronting our problems instead of censoring speech deemed to be not "politically correct", we will never move forward as a society.

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President-elect Obama is a well-educated, cultured, sophisticated, and intelligent man, and these EPA blacks are actually diminishing his victory by behaving as they did. To think I forgot about my prejudices on November 4th...

The police chief must resign!
The police chief is a political appointment. The chief is selected for their unswerving commitment and loyalty to the Democratic National Committee. They must be politically correct in thought and action. To fail in this endevour is to fail their political masters. Ergo, resign!

Beleive me, if the criminals would read all these comments by palo altans, they would be more inclined to go into PA and commit even more crimes.... Crime is a part of life regardless of where you live. There are bad people in this world that don't value life or anything and if they chose to commit crimes they will and there is nothing anyone can do. Eventually they get caught but manytimes only after they have hurt many people. Crime is a never ending problem....

at this point, firing chief johnson would be seen as caving to professional provocateurs and the grandstanding mayor next door. this has way more to do with making noise at gathering attention than it has anything to do with civil rights. notice that even former city councilwoman ladoris cordell, a staunch defender of civil rights, didn't attend this fiasco, and rightfully so. the entire incident shows how weak and subject to whim our political structures are. we'd better learn from this, by turning our attention away from people who want to move newsprint and agitators who use human conflict to promote themselves at the cost of their neighbor's good will toward each other.

I just watched the police chief interview on CBS 5, and I just do not buy any of her excuses. She must resign!

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Why boycott Palo Alto businesses? Were they doing racial profiling? If not, then why should they be punished for the actions of the city government? It is the city government that regulates the businesses, not the other way around.

Man, there sure is a lot of hate around here - racial and otherwise. A lot of posters need to take a gigantic chill pill - or maybe indulge in a wee bit of good scotch. Purchased in Palo Alto, of course.

I think the Chief is being targeted for age and sexual orientation, unfair

If a white or cacusain person commits a crime will the police stop all white people in a large area of the city to see who they are, etc. ?? Sounds like they should.

This is just the tip of the ice burg about issues with the police dept.

A "Private Citizens Review Committee" needs to be established with no strings to any city politicans, employees, etc. The only way to find out what is really going on.

EPA Mitchell, those cars are being stopped for broken brake/tail lights as you said. Caucasians would be stopped also for the same thing.

PA prefers less people shopping at our grocery stores.

Paloaltoonline, I hope this is taken as constructive criticism, but you really do need to address the censorship thing. Deleting posts right and left is starting to make things worse, not better. Some posts that were off the charts were allowed to remain, yet many others that were far less incendiary were allowed to remain.

Who are you people? You sound so moronic, so vicious, so lacking in compassion. I thought I would come on here and find people supporting our neighbors in EPA and suggesting ways to open up our community to them and make them welcome. How wrong can I be? You're as lacking in compassion as EPA sees you.

Sad, sad, sad.

"Who are you people? You sound so moronic, so vicious, so lacking in compassion."

Palo Altans. Did you think everyone in our city conforms to the stereotype of a Palo Alto resident? Not all are hybrid-driving, ultra-liberal, socially conscious, save the whales, no on prop 8, bread and roses, ban plastic bag types. What people say in public may differ greatly from their actual take on things, usually to avoid criticism or violence. Such inhibitions do not exist on Internet forums, as anonymous posting removes the threat of real-life verbal or physical retaliation.

If they boycott Palo Alto do they have to go to Redwood City or Mountain View for groceries? It's also their own fault they voted for Ikea over a supermarket.

There is Safeway in Menlo Park or did you think it was in Palo Alto