Commission to Nowhere.
By Jim Conley • Feb 7th, 2008 • Email This Post to a Friend •
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So, on Monday I attended the meeting of Brookline’s Human Relations Commission and Youth Resources Council to hear them discuss the Arthur Conquest matter. I left knowing less than I did going in.
I have no idea why this group exists (and neither do they apparently). Allegedly, the Commission is supposed to address “intergroup relations” in Brookline (whatever that means). But among other things, the Commission’s charter in the town’s by-laws is to:
“Increase communications across racial lines to destroy stereotypes, to halt polarization, end distrust and hostility, and create common ground for efforts toward public order and social justice…”
A full eight months after the May 24th incident involving Arthur Conquest and the Brookline PD, the Commission has finally heard from Conquest. And that’s only because he received the minutes of a previous meeting and appeared on Monday to object to the phrasing of comments* made by its director, Steve Bressler.
Gee, for a group charged with narrowing the racial poles, they sure have a hard time talking about race (maybe because there’s not a black resident who serves on the Commission). And I guess it’s not clear to people whether race is a factor in the Conquest ordeal and, absent that, the Commission doesn’t see a role for itself in the matter.
But whether the facts support racial bias, at this point, is inconsequential. No white resident of means would be treated as was Conquest by police and by the town’s political arm. No white resident in the lobby of town hall was ushered by police into a corner, as was Conquest. And it seems mighty odd to me that police thought they were going to encounter a “person known to them” from a previous incident (who happens to be of a different skin color than Conquest) and zeroed in on Conquest.
The perception is that there is a race problem in Brookline. Black and Latino drivers are three times more likely to be pulled over by police than are whites. Our town administration is dearth of minority representation and our political leadership is unwilling to face hard truths - not because these truths are open to debate, but because they couldn’t care less whether they hear them.
So maybe it’s not a matter of perception at all.
* Bressler told the Commission that the witnesses who gave statements to police on the May 24th donnybrook were “friends of Conquest.” Those who have given statements in the case (outside of town government) believe that that there is a smear campaign out of town hall designed to marginalize them as friends who are carrying water for Conquest.
Jim Conley is publisher of On Brookline.
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I wonder if Mr. Bressler has any concept of “procedural justice.” I had a run-in with him several years ago over safety issues involving the new Hall’s Pond Swamp walkways, especially the portions over water, which were obviously not in compliance with requirements for persons with disabilities. At first Mr. Bressler tried to ignore me and this issue. But I persisted by contacting the right parties and eventually went on a tour of the walkways with him and the then Brookline official that headed Brookline’s commission (for ADA matters) who brought along measuring devices to demonstrate that the walkways left much to be desired under existing state and federal requirements, including especially the lack of railings on the walkways over water. Eventually the railings were installed and other changes made to bring these walkways into ADA compliance. So my suggestion to people who want “procedural justice” under Bresser’s jurisdiction is to get on and stay on his back and go over his head when necessary.
I should have noted in my comment that Bressler is the Town’s ADA Coordinator, albeit a reluctant one in the experience I described. The Town’s Legal Notices for ZBA hearings conclude with a paragraph about contacting him for certain needs. I wonder what has been the experience of those who have contacted him in response to his invitation. Is he some sort of an ombudsman on ADA and related matters?
BRESSLER’S BIAS?
Lt. Burke’s internal audit report (10/10/07) references eight (8) police and thirteen (13) civilian interviews (four (4) of whom were Town employees). For some reason, Bressler discounts the testimony of Conquest and eight (8) other non-Town employees as “friends of Conquest.” But if Bressler actually read the 30-page report, with care, he would have been aware that of these eight (8) non-Town employees not all of them were “friends of Conquest.” Is Bressler suggesting something more than bias on the part of these eight (8), particularly those who are friendly with Conquest? Has Bressler considered whether the eight (8) police and four (4) civilian Town-employees who gave testimony might have biases? Or is Bressler demonstrating a loyal Town Hall bias by walking in lockstep with them? Hopefully in his role as ADA Coordinator for the Town he is a bit more objective.