Where’s the Human Rights Commission?
The current situation with the police department and the discovery that the 911 dispatcher Dianne D’Iorio mistreated callers on that emergency line who could not speak English by refusing to contact a Spanish-speaking translator who could help has been on the news all week. This brought to mind that we have a group that was created for the sole purpose of listening to residents who believe their rights have been violated but it has all but disappeared because they have been mum on the issue. This week was the perfect example to defend.
Lawrence established The Human Rights Commission over ten years ago with the purpose of giving the public an avenue to air their frustrations and civil violations. For many years I was a critic of their behavior which was a body pleasing the ruling administrations and not ‘making waves’ by truly representing the interests of the community.
My complaints have been chiefly about advertising their meeting schedules so that people could attend for the purpose of watching the proceedings or presenting their gripes. It seemed as if they were kept secret from everyone (including me) and it was difficult to keep up with them. They occasionally changed the meeting place or dates without notifying anyone beyond themselves.
Their monthly meetings always included former Police Chief John J. Romero but there was never a report of those discussions which had the appearance of being private. For many years, the city has been saturated with residents’ lawsuits due to police brutality cases. Many of them causes while in custody at the police station, handcuffed and in the presence of other officers. I wonder if those cases were ever brought up during the conversations with the chief or which side the Commission took because no one found out.
The city spent millions of dollars each year, either defending police abuse cases or paying off settlements, which were seldom reported by the local English-language media. Yet, when Chief Romero left the city, the Human Rights Commission gave him a plaque of recognition. I don’t know the content but I doubt it was for the millions of dollars he caused us by allowing his men to continue such practice.
That group is legally obligated to provide an annual report of the cases heard during that year and the resolutions attained on each one. Many years ago I requested such a document and I was given a typewritten sheet with some numbers that were far from justifying the horror stories going on in the city whether with the police department, landlord disputes, discrimination, employment cases, etc.
The Human Rights Commission has been there to placate reality and not spoil the peaceful image the administrations would like to promote of Lawrence. That’s not why they were appointed!
The present situation, assuming they had no idea it was happening, is the best example for them to follow. They should have called an emergency meeting with the mayor and police chief to discuss it. I doubt it has happened. In fact, Asdrovel Tejeda is the current president of the group and his name has been mentioned on the radio without hearing an explanation or any type of response from him or any other member.
The Human Rights Commission has more power than they even know they have. They could demand the courts to change the present status of the Castro Consent Decree to allow the city to hire the proper number of Spanish-speaking officers. They must remember they are in that position to serve us, not the administration. We will never know the real effect D’Iorio’s actions produced during the years.
We are also aware that she has been made a scapegoat to take away attention from the real issues of racial tensions and discrimination going on in Lawrence. By firing her, it shows that the police chief and the mayor care about the seriousness of her actions. But they admitted that her personnel file contains several memos since 2013 when she was reprimanded for the same behavior. They were playing with human lives and did not care.
