I’ve only known Wayne as long as I’ve known my wife Terry Acebo Davis who herself besides being chair of the arts commission when Mitchell Park was built has worked at Stanford for 40 years, most recently as a nurse in the Emergency Department. My understanding is that Wayne Benitez has worked at the hospital as a tech for many years before serving the public as public safety specialist.
So I am in implying but do not know for a fact that despite the cynical tone of your article Wayne Benitez likely has retired after many many years of public service thank you Wayne for your service.
(Ed Shikada meanwhile is a newbie...)

More stonewalling by our city manager? We should at least know whether the departing officer if leaving with his pension and benefits.

Mark Weiss take your blinders off. Benitez has left after a shameful, brutal, unnecessary incident that will likely cost the city a lot of money.

Excellent news that Sergeant Benitez has been shown the door from the PAPD - the last thing we need is an officer in a leadership position who goes around slamming Palo Altans' heads into windshields, then try to cover it up.

This is not only awful for who he brutalized, but pricey for us taxpayers who will pay for the victim's lawsuit and bad for our town's reputation. He also sent a terrible message of homophobia, ethnic and class hatred toward many of our town's residents based on his comments uttered during this illegal arrest when this brutality happened.

At least he will not be around to repeat or pass on his practices to other officers, and we can hope that if others of Benitez ilk are in PAPD they will shape up or also be out the door.

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I see a lot of snowflakes.

@Mark Weiss: Hogwash.

Since the officer most likely quit before he was terminated, he will keep his pension and benefits. The lawyers will go after the deep pockets, the city.

We're paying him $118,000 a year. Not counting whatever we're paying in legal settlements. Web Link

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@ Mark Weiss, You can still support your friend, but to minimize what he did is insulting to the people of this community and the ideals that Police Officers are supposed to stand for. Benitez lost his cool [portion removed.] By supporting Benitez' actions your actually supporting the [conduct] by officers that cause injuries to citizens.

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Sgt Wayne Benitez [portion removed] should be charged with assault and hate crimes.. [portion removed.]

So glad I left Palo Alto. Being an educated person of color is not safe in that city. Despite being in a larger city, the Cambridge police is so much kinder to us.