RACIAL JUSTICE: REFORM in the papd CITY COUNCIL, POLICE RESPOND TO PROTESTS Text by MYRA XU and ANTONIA MOU
“S
AY HIS NAME! George Floyd! Say her name! Breonna Taylor!” Over 10,000 protestors chant in unison, holding painted signs and marching side by side as they fill the streets of downtown Palo Alto on June 6, 2020. Local residents joined millions across the nation to demand justice for the Black community and call for a reevaluation of police departments following several high-profile police brutality cases, including the murders of Floyd and Taylor. As a result, Palo Alto was forced to confront its own history of racial injustice. The Palo Alto City Council adopted a resolution in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and created an initial framework for addressing issues of race and equity reform through five actionable areas approved at the June 15, 2020 council meeting. One year later, the Palo Alto City
16 JUNE 2021
Photo by MYRA XU
Council and Palo Alto Police Department’s actions in response to concerns over racial equity, police brutality and police accountability demonstrate the impacts of last summer’s protests. Police transparency In 2019, resident Julio Arevalo was violently arrested by the PAPD, and consequently won a lawsuit alleging excessive force last year. Following the lawsuit, Human Relations Committee Chair Kaloma Smith said he only found out about the case after it was released through public media. According to Smith, one way to improve transparency in the PAPD is to expand the role of Palo Alto’s Independent Police Auditor, a third-party contractor who conducts audits on internal and citizen-generated police complaints. “I want them [IPA] to get the case files as soon as they come,” Smith said. “I
need investigations to go a lot quicker and I need their results to be released when they are released, not in six months or one year timeframes.” According to IPA Stephen Connolly, who works alongside his partner Mike Gennaco, the IPA releases a report of findings to the public semi-annually, but not immediately after concluding a case audit. While Connolly is satisfied with the current system, he is also aware that changes to the timeline may be necessary. “I think that the dynamic is definitely shifting and the expectation on the city council’s part and the City’s part is that we’re going to be more regularly engaged in reporting out to the public, especially through the council meetings and other opportunities,” Connolly said. Former Santa Clara County deputy public defender and community activist Aram James said the issue of transparency
