The pathetic wrong-headed lawsuit over the BLM mural sure isn’t going to help recruit African Americans to the PAPD.

By the way - Former Sgt. Wayne Benitez goes on trial in SJ Superior Court Dec. 6 for ramming a handcuffed, non-resisting Latino man’s head into a windshield, and not reporting his use of force.

What if anything has happened to all those other officers who stood around Alvarez but never intervened, then covered up for Benitez for a year and a half till a private video surfaced?

@felix - As a Hispanic woman, Gustavo Alvarez is lucky that I was not on any of the juries in any of trials for any of his crimes in his long criminal record. While REAL police violence is wrong, so is resisting arrest and, yes, antagonizing officers who were doing their jobs.

Black officers likely don’t celebrate murals with cop killers in them, no matter how much the local populace feels they should. They likely have greater objections to the pay/housing ratio and captains who call them n****** and yet are still employed.

Does the race of the police officer really matter? Can't they just be officers and suspects? And for those who think that race does matter, I remember a black LAPD officer telling me at a LAPD barbeque that black officers are harder on black suspects than non-black officers. I was a college student who lacked life experience, and I had no idea if this was true. Through the years, I have read that black officers are more likely to shoot black suspects, but those stories aren't covered.

My take? Quit committing crimes, and if you are foolish enough, cooperate with the police.

The article states that PAPD is trying to “ attract a diverse applicant pool that is representative of the community we serve.” So what are the numbers of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Jewish officers on the force since they make up a big portion of the community? I agree with John that Black recruits probably don’t want to work for a police department that protects and promotes officers (Captain Perron) that calls them racist, derogatory names.

Another attempt to create a problem where none exists. I'm sure the PAPD doesn't turn away Black recruits. Perhaps there aren't any interested in the job and if that's the case what do you want PAPD to do? And as a previous commenter said, there are many other underrepresented groups on the list. Where's the "shame" over that fact?

Jennifer brought up a good point. It's not about the skin color of a police officer but rather an ability to uphold the law.

And black police officers often have to prove their 'street cred' to white superior officers by taking it out on people of color.

quote: "So what are the numbers of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Jewish officers on the force since they make up a big portion of the community?"

^ The majority of these ethnic groups tend to pursue higher educational opportunities and do not opt for demeaning job opportunities in law enforcement. Most of them pursue their advanced college degrees outside of places like Cal State University East Bay in Hayward.

When was the last time you heard of any PAPD officer with a Bachelor's degree from Stanford or UC Berkeley?

All it takes is a community college degree in Law Enforcement and some additional time at the police academy firing range.

The junior college cadets monitoring campus parking lots and former enlisted military personnel are your future law enforcement officers and the majority of them will always be white.

It comes with the territory and mentality.

[Post removed.]

It sounds like the PAPD is doing all it can to get a new black officer, but the efforts haven't worked yet. So how is that their fault? It's takes two to Tango.

What a racist article about a tired,subjective non-issue. Enough generalizing based on skin color! I would expect higher discourse from a Palo Alto newspaper that's more insightful than this trendy, hollow pandering BS.

Why does race have to play a factor? How about just make it about hiring candidates who will be professional, do his/her/their job to uphold the law with the oath that they take to do so? It’s difficult to find people who want to be police officers with all the negativity towards the profession. PAPD has a great workforce and they work hard to recruit, but how can the community they serve see that when this local news outlet always puts a negative spin on everything, worst of all suggesting there are internal racial reasons for not hiring Black officers. Wake up people! Recruiting is at an all time low across the country…think about why. Go on a ride-along, talk to your community’s officers, learn what it takes to work in law enforcement before you assume you have all of the answers. PAPD, keep your heads high and be safe out there!

@ Rusty Taylor

“When was the last time you heard of any PAPD officer with a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford or UC Berkeley?”

-Believe it or not, Rusty, there are many well-educated college graduates on the PAPD police force, including from Stanford. I know people who graduated from UC Berkeley and UC Davis who are police officers. Some have master’s degrees or higher who pursue careers in law enforcement. There have even been cases where lawyers and other professionals who left
their jobs to become full time cops. It is not a demeaning job only reserved for non-college graduates and Military veterans, like many people falsely believe. Some PDs actually require a Bachelor’s Degree as part of their hiring requirement. I have the utmost respect for our police officers. They are NOT dumb or stupid.

I don’t think skin color should be a factor in hiring.

So what? Does it really matter? Is it a fault?
Are the doors closed to minorities seeking police employment?
Not to mention, are not whites becoming a minority in Palo Alto?
BTW, Police and Fire retirement packages are FABULOUS!!! A
ll of them get promoted to Captain, for Captain pay in retirement. Look into that!
God Bless them when we need them in our time of emergency/needs.
But FYI, I have worked 35yrs, our firm has no pension plans.
Thank God I saved in my 401k plan and personal accounts.
Even then, will not really equal a 15yr Captain retirement plan.
III

As others have said, this is not anything we should be looking at in these terms.

MLK wanted a time when we could be judged by the content of our character rather than the color of our skin. It seems to me to be about time we started doing that.

Retired Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell would make an excellent PAPD Commissioner...someone above the Chief of Police to ensure that racial equality and fairness towards all arrestees are carried out to the fullest extent of existing laws.

Lastly, the color of a police officer's skin is irrelevant providing they are not bigots catering to a white supremacist mentality.

if this was happening in a the public sector, the hiring practices would be reviewed for why they are excluding blacks. HR would be held accountable and policies for recruiting/interviewing/hiring would be scrutinized for bias. combine this comment section from the NY Op-Ed article and you have a wonderful picture of what this town has become.

Palo Alto Animal Control officers also work for PAPD and are often overlooked. Ofc. Jeannette Washington has served for nearly 25 years in Palo Alto. Yes, she’s female and Black/Asian American, but that’s not what makes her worthy of recognition. She deserves commendation for her hard work, dedication, kindness, and compassion. She’s a great role model for the rest of the police department.

Is the City of Palo Alto and PAPD actually practicing discrimination or is it because very few African-Americans actually apply for the position of law enforcement officer?

There are under 100 police officers in Palo Alto. 33% of the city is Asian American. Are there 30 Asian American officers? Might be a bigger story!