{"id":39318,"date":"2013-07-02T17:08:13","date_gmt":"2013-07-03T00:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=39318"},"modified":"2013-07-10T11:22:52","modified_gmt":"2013-07-10T18:22:52","slug":"civil-rights-leaders-react-to-doj-findings-call-for-citizens-review-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/07\/02\/civil-rights-leaders-react-to-doj-findings-call-for-citizens-review-board\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil rights leaders react to DOJ findings, call for citizens review board"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Surrounding<\/a>
Surrounded by leaders of various local civil rights organizations, AV-NAACP President V. Jesse Smith speaks at a press conference Tuesday at Antelope Valley courthouse to address a Justice Department investigation that revealed racial discrimination in the Antelope Valley.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 Leaders from various local civil rights groups gathered for a community press conference Tuesday morning in response to a Justice Department investigation that revealed discriminatory policing and racial bias in the Antelope Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe report from the Justice Department confirms what we have said all along, that African Americans and Latinos have been the victims of racial profiling in the Antelope Valley,\u201d said V. Jesse Smith, President of the AV-NAACP. \u201cIt confirmed also that those who are a part of Section 8, in fact, were targeted because they were Section 8 vouchers [holders], and they were targeted because many of them happen to be African American and Latino,\u201d Smith continued.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department Civil Rights Division on Friday (June 28) announced the conclusion of a nearly two-year investigation, which found that deputies from the Lancaster and Palmdale Sheriff\u2019s Stations routinely targeted African Americans and Latinos for stops, seizures and excessive force and that local deputies and housing investigators intimidated and harassed African-American housing choice voucher holders.<\/p>\n

\"Lancaster<\/a>
Lancaster Mayor Emeritus Henry Hearns opened the press conference with prayer for a better system.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a letter to Sheriff Lee Baca detailing its findings, the DOJ stated that \u201cracial intolerance\u201d was \u201can unfortunate part of the history of the Antelope Valley.\u201d The report cited multiple examples of racial bias, from the 1960s, when \u201cAfrican-American families who wanted to live in Lancaster and Palmdale were directed to the historically minority neighboring community of Sun Village\u2026,\u201d to an incident in 2010 when an \u201cLASD deputy took photographs of luxury vehicles in a home’s garage during a Section 8 compliance check, and sent them to the administrator of the \u2018I Hate Section 8\u2019<\/em> Facebook page,\u201d which resulted in the home being vandalized with racial slurs. Read the DOJ\u2019s findings letter\/report in full here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAs I read the report, I literally, literally came to tears, because while I knew that racism existed, I didn\u2019t know it was that pervasive,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look towards the day when Latino immigrants and U.S. born citizens alike can walk the streets of the Antelope Valley without fear, and some of us, without terror,\u201d said Javier Flores of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).<\/p>\n

Sheriff\u2019s officials disagree with many of the DOJ\u2019s conclusions, but said the department was committed to working closely with the DOJ to assess what, if any, changes need to be implemented. Read the LASD’s statement of intent here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The County Housing Authority has also committed to making changes and to paying \u201cmonetary damages to persons whose fair housing rights were violated in the course of HACoLA\u2019s enforcement of the voucher program in the Antelope Valley from 2004 to at least 2011,\u201d according to a statement of intent by the County Housing Authority.\u00a0 \u201cThe Parties will negotiate the exact amount of monetary damages,\u201d the statement reads. Read the County Housing Authority\u2019s Statement of\u00a0Intent here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

A recent news story in the LA Times<\/em><\/a> put the figure at around $12.5 million dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey deserve even more as far as I\u2019m concerned,\u201d Smith said, before adding that the situation was about much more than money. \u201cWhat Section 8 folks and people of color experienced, being harassed by the police, money can\u2019t compensate that because that\u2019s going to live with them for the rest of their lives. But it will provide for them some measure of justice and some measure of comfortable living.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jerome<\/a>
A month after the DOJ launched its investigation, Section 8 recipients packed a community forum to give first-hand accounts of what they called abuse and harassment by local deputies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Justice Department\u2019s investigation was launched in August 2011 (read more here<\/a>)<\/em>, just two months after the local NAACP and other civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit claiming black and Latino families using Section 8 were victims of constant, unbearable harassment at the hands of housing authority investigators, sheriff\u2019s deputies and local politicians (Read that complaint here<\/a><\/em>).<\/p>\n

Though not named in the federal lawsuit, the County of Los Angeles reached a settlement related to the allegations in late January of 2012 (Read more here<\/a>)<\/em>. The City of Palmdale settled about a week later, but did not admit to any wrongdoing and called the lawsuit \u201cfrivolous.\u201d\u00a0(Read those details here<\/a>)<\/em>. Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, the most vocal critic of the lawsuit (read more here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>)<\/em>, announced that the city was resolving the lawsuit in October of 2012. (Read more here<\/a>)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Both local sheriff\u2019s stations have also undergone changes since the Justice Department investigation began. Each has created its own Community Advisory Committee to strengthen the partnership between the community and law enforcement. (Read more here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/em> Earlier this year, new Sheriff\u2019s Captains were announced for each station, as well.<\/p>\n

Civil rights activists are calling for an independent Citizens Review Complaints Board, which will assure the public that complaints against deputies are investigated completely and fairly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe citizens have got to feel empowered that when police misconduct takes place out here, they have some kind of authority to be able to rectify the situation and hold law enforcement accountable,\u201d Smith said, adding that the citizens review board must have subpoena power.<\/p>\n

The civil rights groups will be holding an \u201ceducational meeting\u201d next week that focuses on the DOJ\u2019s conclusions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the purpose of educating the community on what the report actually entails and then where do we go from here\u2026\u201d Smith said. \u201cIf you were a victim of racial injustice, you are going to be compensated for that in some form or fashion at some later date.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says the meeting is also open to residents who may disagree with the way the Section 8 program is administered. Those residents are welcome to the meeting, so that community leaders can address the misconceptions about the Section 8 program, Smith says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we want to say is, \u2018not every person who is on Section 8 is a criminal, not every person who is on Section 8 is African American or Latino, and not every person on Section 8 is bringing down the community\u2026\u201d Smith said, adding that the Justice Department\u2019s report revealed that there was no connection between Section 8 and crime in Lancaster and Palmdale.<\/p>\n

The first in a series of educational meetings to address the DOJ\u2019s findings will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 10 at a location to be announced, the group said. Activists are hoping that representatives from local law enforcement will attend the meeting, as well.<\/p>\n

Civil rights organizations taking part in Tuesday\u2019s press conference included the Antelope Valley Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The Community Action League, the Merit Commission, the local chapter of the Nation of Islam, the HELPER Foundation, the League of United Latin American Citizens, One Way Up, and the High Desert Alliance of Black School Educators.<\/p>\n

UPDATED 7\/10\/13<\/span>: The community meeting to address the DOJ’s findings has been rescheduled to \u00a0a date in August, according to AV-NAACP President V. Jesse Smith. The exact date, time and place will be announced in the near future, Smith said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 Leaders from various local civil rights groups gathered for a community press conference Tuesday morning in response to a Justice Department investigation that revealed discriminatory policing and racial bias in the Antelope Valley. \u201cThe report from the Justice Department confirms what we have said all along, that African Americans and Latinos have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":39319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}