CHICO -- A Chico police officer said Councilman Andy Holcombe ignored his obligation as a community leader if he heard racial profiling complaints and did not report them.
"As officers, we have taken an oath to uphold the law. We are unable to do so when individuals knowingly withhold evidence from the authorities," said officer Will Clark, president elect of the Chico Police Officers' Association.
Clark addressed the Chico City Council Tuesday during business from the floor regarding Holcombe's statements Dec. 14 at a Police Community Advisory Board meeting. Holcombe had said, "I've received at least a few calls over the last two years from people complaining about being profiled by the police due to race, but they told me they were afraid to go public with it."
Holcombe said after Tuesday's meeting the few complaints he heard were not specific and he only raised them last week to get the discussion going.
"The two or three anecdotal reports I received were from or on behalf of people who didn't want to press forward," Holcombe said.
Holcombe does not think Chico police racially profile, he said. He was disappointed the police union was "shooting the messenger as opposed to considering the substance of the message."
"What is a problem is there is a perception by some in our community that it does take place," Holcombe said.
He thinks the complaint process is not working because people who feel they have been racially profiled are not coming forward to the available government agencies, Holcombe said. The issues then go unresolved.
"That victimizes our police as much as our community members," Holcombe said.
Councilman Scott Gruendl agreed the process needs work because many people do not hear back after their complaint is investigated.
Holcombe thinks a citizen complaint or review board could address the issue, he said.
Clark said he does not think the system for citizen complaints is broken, since people can come to the Police Department, city personnel or the District Attorney's Office. Police officers and the department welcome citizens' input.
He said he and his fellow officers were taken aback by Holcombe's statements.
"When a City Council member voices unsupported insinuations of racial profiling, it creates a sense of distrust between the police department and the community," Clark said.
"By not doing the due diligence in ensuring these statements have any factual foundation, Mr. Holcombe only serves to paint our officers in a bad light. The fact is our officers do not engage in and do not tolerate any type of discrimination race, gender or otherwise."
No Chico police officer has been found to violate racial profiling regulations, Clark said.
"No one knows better than your police officers that bad people come in all races, genders and social economic backgrounds," Clark said. "After all, we see it every day."
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