Official seeks review commission
PACIFIC GROVE >> Following the case of a police officer who remains on the force displaying decals of a right-wing, anti-government militia group, an elected official in Pacific Grove is proposing to establish an oversight commission for all city departments.
In June, it came to light that a Pacific Grove police officer was displaying decals on his personal car while parked on city property advocating for an organization calling itself the “Three Percenters” or “Threepers” that human rights groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League, have named as an anti- government militia group.
Jenny McAdams, a member of the Pacific Grove City Council, will introduce to colleagues on Wednesday what she hopes will become the “Government Accountability Commission.” She noted that the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May sparked a national conversation about race and the lack of equality and justice for Black Americans and many people of color.
“Prior to Mr. Floyd’s murder our own police department received a complaint of an officer who displayed racist decals on their personal vehicle in the city’s employee parking lot,” Adams said in a report to her col
leagues. “Per the investigation findings the officer ‘did not violate any city or police department policy or law’ and remains an active patrolling officer in the city of Pacific Grove.”
The decals included one that read “Liberty, Guns, Beer, Trump,” which has the initials of LGBT. The officer, in a post-investigation report, said he didn’t know the meaning of the stickers and apologized. Citing a personnel issue, no further details of the investigation have been released, including the officer’s name.
T he group’s website states that it does not discriminate against anyone; but in response to Black Lives Matter protests following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the 3Percenters’ Facebook page featured numerous racist comments by supporters, according to Thomas Mockaitis, the author of “Violent Extremists: Understanding the Domestic and International Terrorist Threat.”
Also on the group’s website has a store featuring a number of decals and patches, one of which reads “Black Guns Matter” with the outline of an assault rifle with a high- capacity magazine. Chapters also engage in paramilitary activities such as marksmanship training, according to a 2018 article in USA Today. The Center for Investigative Reporting also confirms these activities.
The group adamantly insists it is not racist, or antigovernment — unless they deem a government tyrannical — and that it is not a militia. It does offer in its store stickers of a multitude of weapon calibers, such as “7.62” referring to 30- caliber weapons such as the M1, M2 and M3 military-grade rifles used in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
The council report states that there are no easy solutions for dismantling systemic racism, but that a commission would allow elected officials to review and evaluate city policies to ensure they are not furthering racism. McAdams advocates the commission would work together with the community.
Policies are especially important because they are mechanisms that governments have used to create or maintain racial disparities and injustices, the report states.
McAdams said the way to counter that is through four principles embedded in an equity framework. First is establishing the commission. Second is conducting assessments of all departments that could result in elected officials instituting legislation that could address inequality.
The third principle is passing a resolution that would require a “commitment to opposing racism and prejudice” and the fourth would be to join a national network called The Government Alliance on Race and Equity.
The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday and may be accessed at bit. ly/2SzLSiB. For meeting instructions, see bit. ly/3llwKSw.