In the aftermath of the recent racial profiling controversy involving Palo Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson, members of Paly’s Unifying Neighbors In Today’s Youth (UNITY) club see a chance to improve Palo Alto race relations.

The controversy began with Johnson’s statement at an Oct. 30 community meeting that she had told Palo Alto police officers to stop African-Americans on the street and “see who these people are.” On Nov. 20, after nearly three weeks of protests and general community outrage, Johnson announced her plans to retire from her post Dec. 19.

Though many people approve of Johnson’s decision to step down, Paly teacher and UNITY club sponsor Letitia Burton sees Johnson’s announcement of her retirement as a lost chance at improving police-community relations.

“I was sorry to hear that her career ended this way,” Burton said. “The opportunity for her to mend some community relations seems to be lost with her resignation.”

Senior UNITY club president Olivia Garcia believes that deciding to retire was a necessary step for Johnson after the fiery public reaction to her comments at the meeting.

“Under the circumstances, it [retiring] was the only possible way [for Johnson] to redeem herself,” Garcia said.

The catalyst for Johnson’s decision to retire was the community reaction to her Oct. 30 statement. Johnson said her advice was intended to assist police officers in the investigation of a number of recent robberies in which, according to Johnson, many of the suspects are African-American.

According to Palo Alto Police Agent Dan Ryan, Johnson first made the controversial statement during the meeting. She then explained the reasoning behind what she had said to her officers, leaving meeting attendees untroubled by any notion that she had encouraged racial profiling, according to Ryan. At the meeting’s close, Johnson was applauded for her work.

According to Ryan, Johnson repeated after the meeting her original statement without the explanation she had given during the meeting. Ryan believes the lack of explanation was the reason why the statement was so badly received.

“It [Johnson’s statement after the meeting] didn’t communicate what she was thinking, and certainly not what the department was doing,” Ryan said.

In Burton’s opinion, Johnson’s remarks were racially charged, regardless of whether or not she meant them to be.

“Even if her [Johnson’s] intent wasn’t to condone racial profiling, in reality, that’s what she did,” Burton said.

Garcia agrees with Burton, noting that the history of injustice towards African-Americans continues to play a role in race relations today.

“It doesn’t matter what her [Johnson’s] intentions were; with a group of people who have historically been oppressed, you have to be careful what you say,” Garcia said.

When news of Johnson’s remarks reached the general public, African-Americans and whites alike launched vigorous protests. In one instance, large numbers of protesters marched from East Palo Alto City Hall to Palo Alto City Hall, demanding Johnson’s ouster.

In Ryan’s opinion, the vehemence of the public reaction is justified.

“Just the remarks alone are offensive, certainly, and so I can understand the depth of the anger,” Ryan said.

From Garcia’s point of view, Johnson’s remarks caused people to see anew Palo Alto’s problems with race relations.

“I think it [the series of events beginning with Johnson’s Oct. 30 remarks] has shed light on the racism and discrimination that people don’t realize still exists,” Garcia said.

Burton believes that Johnson’s comments and the public reaction to them offer a chance for Palo Alto to reexamine itself.

“It seems that Palo Alto has taken this view that it doesn’t have the same problems that other cities have, and that isn’t true,” Burton said. “I would hope that Palo Alto would begin to have a more realistic view of itself [as a result of these events].”

Burton also noted that, in Palo Alto, the relationships between the police and African-American and Latino communities are not particularly good ones. Burton urges police and citizens alike to work to strengthen those relationships.

According to Ryan, the police will be putting more stake in community relationships in the future, after experiencing the consequences of what Ryan believes to have been simple miscommunication.

“We’ll [Palo Alto police will] be making extra efforts to communicate [to Palo Alto residents] our practices and our policies effectively in the coming months,” Ryan said.

Burton hopes, now that Palo Alto residents have outwardly demonstrated their contempt for racial injustice, equally impassioned discussion of race-related topics will follow.

“It would be great if, from this, there’d be more opportunity for open dialogue [on the issues of race and racism],” Burton said. “It’s not about pointing fingers or making people feel guilty, but it is just opening lines of communication.”