Each of the past two years the Commission 'forgot' the report until I shook it loose. The problem is the report gives little information & raises more questions than it answers.

In summary, last year the 9 cops & a clerk (costing well over $1/2 million) conducted 189 investigations

80 were internal, 109 were external
there were a mere 52 "on-duty conduct" , 44 procedure violations, &
40 "use of force" (of special concern . . this can kill)

Incredibly, only 39 were "sustained" (who, for what, whether any were repeat violators . . & what punishment not indicated)

Equally of concern, 33 were not guilty, 8 exonerated, 4 unfounded & 8 "other miscellaneous" . . as 57 were open at the end of the year . .as were about the same number last year

I have no evidence that the Commission knows any answers to questions raised by a report they did not request until I reminded them.

Worse still, when I complained about failure to monitor police corruption, Ms. Hubbard-Robinson called the police to have me ejected (I had been at her door about one minute, after having repeatedly asked, with no response, for Commission intervention previously into police accountability issues).

TABOO TOPICS: Of special concern is failure to discuss resistance to one officer cars by "Dirty Cops" fearful of retaliation by drug dealers, especially kids, who have long been shaken down for their drug money.

The Commission has also ignored widespread anger in neighborhoods that 911 complaints about dealers leads to cops exposing the callers, not stopping the dealing. That costs taxpayers dearly as costly two officer cars are covering up police corruption, while not addressing the very safety & quality of life issues driving folks out of the city.

THE COMMISSION HAS MAJOR STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS . . . leading to "politically correct" & "feel good" efforts while ignoring deep-seated problems. The commission is appointed by the very politicians (Masiello & Pitts) who long kept civil rights off the table in city government. The prior commission had no staff nor budget, nor any informal support from Pitts nor Masiello.

Then the Commission got a generous budget & hired (& paid generously) a director virtually unknown in civil rights & activist circles. There is only one policing activist on the Commission (L. Renford). Other Commission members lack credibility as well. Most dramatic is Pitts' appointment of Ross RunfolaEsq., repeatedly defended Cop-Councilman Robert Quintana as he trampled the Constitution & civilized behavior, while refusing to discuss in any way incredible destruction Quintana wreaked on his struggling Hispanic community.

It is well known, of course, that Pitts relies heavily on PBA ( & developer) financial support, while garnering black votes to preserve his status quo agenda. That is deeply cynical, since the PBA is dominated by white suburb-dwelling cops, who have been committing rampant (& very costly) abuse of sick leave to avoid coming into a city they often openly despise . . . as Internal Affairs last year found a mere 5 "Sick & Military Leave Abuse(s).

The Police Code of Ethics demands near saintly behavior ( I plan to post it on my website www.kernwatch.com) . . . as the Commission on Citizen Rights ignores rampant (& very costly, both financially & socially) police abuse . .while trampling the First Amendment to call the cops on me for "petition(ing) the government for redress of grievances".

Something is wrong here!

Richard Kern, MSW
882-2388