On November 10, the Palo Alto City Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning racial profiling. In doing so they acknowledged the damage caused when Police Chief Lynne Johnson, commenting on a recent crime spike, said that she ordered her officers to question African Americans they see in Palo Alto to find out who they are.

Chief Johnson stated at a community meeting in late October that her officers would be stopping African American males and having "consensual" interviews. The purpose of the interviews would be to determine who they were and what they were doing in the city of Palo Alto, she stated. The next day she rephrased her original statement as follows: "What I meant to say," she attempted to clarify, "was that the officers, when they see not just the African American male adult, but the behavior, if the person is acting suspicious then they are to make contact and find out who that person is."

Victims of the recent crime wave in Palo Alto have variously described their assailants as being black, Latino, white, or Pacific Islander males, so many residents of Palo Alto and neighboring cities are wondering why the police chief is apparently targeting African Americans.

Community leaders including Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and Palo Alto Mayor Larry Klein expressed deep concern about Chief Johnson's ability to continue to act as head of the city's police department. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, issued a statement condemning the chief's original remarks. Eshoo said that Chief Johnson had "demonstrated a profound lack of judgment and leadership." In an official statement the Congresswoman said that the Police Chief should rescind her comments and orders or resign. Palo Alto Mayor Larry Klein said the chief's remarks were "unacceptable, unconstitutional and un-American."

A march starting in East Palo Alto, a city with a large African American and Latino population across highway 101 from Palo Alto, was held on November 9. Several hundred people then rallied in front of Palo Alto City Hall. Dr. Faye McNair-Knox, Executive Director of *One East Palo Alto* announced a seven point plan to stop racial profiling in Palo Alto. That plan included a call for a boycott of Palo Alto businesses and the immediate resignation of Chief Johnson.

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