Citizens-Police-Review-Board-In-Exile Schedules
1st Public Meeting 8 PM City Council Tuesday Night


In November and December, the Citizens Police Review Board challenged the Santa Cruz Police Department to finally address issues of Racial Profiling long ignored or sidelined by Police Chief Steve Belcher. It asked City Council to declare itself against Selective Enforcement--the policy of giving police the power to single out and harass members of the community they do not like.

In early January without inviting any members of the Citizens Police Review Board, the public, or the media to
its closed Financial Crisis Committee meeting, Mayor Reilly and Vice-Mayor Kennedy recommended cutting 2/3 of the CPRB budget and moved the CPRB be “restructured.”

On January 21st, without inviting any CPRB members to testify, Council unanimously passed that recommendation--unchanged, giving the public only two minutes per speaker.

In private consultations with City Manager Dick Wilson in the next week, Reilly and Kennedy worked out a four-point death sentence for the CPRB, including abolition of the entire CPRB law. No CPRB members or members of the public were invited to these discussions, nor, according to Mayor Reilly, was any formal meeting actually held.

On January 27th, Council unanimously passed the 4-point recommendation. Reilly refused to allow organizations
their usual speaking time, and cut short individual speaking time to two minutes. She ignored a presentation by
the black Chair and Vice-Chair. They disputed supposed savings that eliminating the Board would produce and suggested racial discrimination was a factor in their firing.

On January 29th, in violation of existing law, City Council shuttered the offices of the CPRB to the public and transferred its functions to a single out-of-town Palo Alto attorney, Bob Aronson. Even if Council votes a 2nd and final vote eliminating the CPRB Tuesday night, it still has legal existence until 3-13, requiring continued operation of the CPRB. Instead staff quickly removed all current complaints from CPRB offices to SCPD custody.

CPRB staffer Jenny Lausten failed to send to City Council the CPRB’s December “end selective enforcement” resolution saying she was “too busy.” The premature and illegal closure also stopped the regular February CPRB meeting preventing a public challenge of Council’s rushed unilateral action.

Several days later, City Clerk Leslie Cook announced 90% of the CPRB audio tapes of its monthly meetings since 1995 would be destroyed (“recycled”). City Council member Cynthia Matthews ignored a request to save the tapes and put them in the public library

On February 11th shortly after 8 p.m., City Council has a final Public Hearing on the demolition of the Citizens Police Review Board. It is likely individuals will get three and organizations five minutes to speak. While the matter is a done deal, it is still an important avenue of communication to the community.

Chair Halfmoon and Vice-Chair Fousse have asked members of the community to speak out in favor of a stronger board and against the weak “auditor” model, which ironically will be
more expensive than the volunteer Board which is being forcibly disbanded.

Chair Halfmoon will hold a press conference at the Council meeting and announce the first public meeting of the Citizens-Police-Review-Board-in-Exile. That meeting in mid-February will address problems of Racial Profiling, Selective Enforcement, Undocumented Use/Display of Force, & Biased Investigation in the Santa Cruz Police Department.

Those interested in assisting the CPRB-in-exile Project can contact Halfmoon at 457-9754 X1788, e-mail him at markhalfmoon (at) yahoo.com


THE CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR OF THE CITIZENS POLICE REVIEW BOARD INVITE YOU TO COME TO CITY COUNCIL ON FEBRUARY 11TH AT THE 7 PM SESSION (Item #24 will actually come up sometime after 7:40 PM).

BRING TWO FRIENDS. SPEAK OUT AGAINST CITY COUNCIL’S SURRENDER TO THE NATIONAL “POLICE FIRST!” MENTALITY THAT IS SWEEPING THE COUNTRY. SPEAK OUT AGAINST UNDEMOCRATIC PROCESS THAT SHUTS DOWN THE ONLY INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT THE SCPD HAS (WEAK AS IT CURRENTLY IS).