FYI: Tried to post this piece to Palo Alto online’s story ( today’s article) re our currently extraordinarily dysfunctional HRC without success —Mark Weiss -had numerous excellent posts—thus my initial greetings to Mark . ? Hi Folks, Hi Mark Weiss! Love you my friend.! Been more then 40 years since I saw Charlie Musselwhite ...so sorry I missed the recent event you produced featuring Charlie W. How did it go? After 5 years or so of living in Redwood City ...I’m back living in Palo Alto. 1. Like you Mark I love Lakiba Pittman. I’m so old that I was an assistant soccer coach for her son and my oldest son Sean back 40 years ago. I loved attending HRC meeting back when Lakiba was on the commission. I respect LaDoris Cordell very much but don’t always agree with her. I certainly did’t ask LaDoris Cordell, despite my adamant opposition to Tasers, to resign from the city council, back in 2007, when she provided the 5th and deciding vote in favor of bringing deadly Tasers to Palo Alto. 2. Earlier today before reading about the current HRC controversy(Daily Post broke the story 1st) I was hammering the city council with the 3 issues I think should be a priority with the city council in 2020. I copied the HRC in on almost all of my e-mails. Here are my suggested priority issues for 2020. As an aside...I don’t think I’ll get the time of day on any of the 3 issues either with the city council or the HRC. No chance on the 1st two issues... for sure...# 3 a long-shot. Here they are. Priority # 1: The City must release the report on the Captain Zack Perron scandal. The alleged racist and vile incident occurred January 28, 2014–6 years ago this month. I have great respect for HRC member Daryl Savage... but I believe consciously or unconsciously she harbors such a pro police bias she is unable or incapable of ever voting for an issue that calls for more police accountability or transparency. Of course, if facts to the contrary exist —I’m am willing to take a second look. Similarly....the entire city council talks a good game on police transparency...but they’re afraid to take a stand against the police chief, the city manager, or the city attorney on releasing the Zack Perron investigation. I watched the entire city council discussion- last meeting in December 2019–and the 1 hr or so discussion.... on the Perron investigation was an exercise in obfuscation...the Council talked all around the issue for the entire Perron agenda item ....and not one council members dared asked the operative question of the police chief, city manager or city attorney. Are you going to release the report? Yes or No? My strong opinion is that the council will never stand up to the police, city manager or city attorney on the issue. Our only chance is If the issue goes viral ...and grassroots organizations including Black Lives Matter —demand that the report be released and the cover-up cease. 1. Priority issue # 2: revisit the Taser issue from 2007 —and after a robust discussion Ban Tasers in Palo Alto. Today I sent the council and the HRC numerous articles on the Taser issue —of relatively recent vintage -2015 -2018–and a three part anti-Taser video of my presentation before the Taser Task Force back in 2007. Daryl Savage was on the Taser Task Force —was unfailing polite...including to me during my presentation—and at all times. My experience-observation were that Daryl Savage was incapable of rising above her inherent bias to give the anti-Taser position a fair hearing-Trial. Similarly beyond some polite lip service to the dangers of Tasers —-the city Council will ignore the growing body of evidence that Tasers kill indiscriminately and hugely disproportionately people of color and vulnerable populations. The council will yet again bow to the police chief’s wishes and non responsive answers to hard questions on Tasers ....and ultimately will vote to retain Tasers —even assuming the HRC or council will even be willing to put the matter on their respective agendas. 1. Priority issue # 3: put a permanent bathroom at Bol Park. Too tired to address this issue tonight ...more on the merits later. Sincerely, Aram James Received on Thu Jan 16 2020 - 22:42:25 PST
