Proceed with Caution - Auditor will judge police investigation of children's theater

"We should be focusing on healing the community," he said. "A police audit
isn't going to heal the community."
-Council Member Yiaway Yeh-

I believe historically we have been under the continued and constant
"threat" from a *insidious communicable disease*, and the "root"
causes, could in fact be PAPD Chief Lynne Johnson and certain members of her staff as major carriers. Therefore, we should proceed with extreme caution. Why? Way to many casualties past and present!

Council member Yiaway Yeh is correct in that before any healing process can in fact begin, the disease should be treated and eliminated with a power anti-biotic that attacks the root causes of the infection. Impeachment of Lynne Johnson!

The current IPA members Gennanco and Miller have and continue to be close colleagues of Chief Johnson and I believe this close association may cloud, further spread and bias the outcome of their report.

Therefore a commission should be formed made-up of community member taken from the city of Palo Alto. Community members, far removed from the disease, thus eliminating any cross-contamination (bias) as in the case of Mr. Gennaco and Mr. Miller.

Therefore, Proceed with Caution - Auditor will judge police investigation of children's theater.

Wednesday Jun 11

Auditor will judge police investigation of children's theater

By Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer An outside auditor should judge whether the Palo Alto Police Department's criminal investigation of the Children's Theatre was justified, the city council has decided.

In an 8-1 vote late Monday night, the council directed City Attorney Gary Baum and contract police auditor Michael Gennaco of the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review to report back on how much the audit will cost and how closely it will scrutinize the 11-month probe, which ended last month with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office refusing to press charges. Before the audit can start, the council will need to OK an additional contract with Gennaco.

On Sunday, Mayor Larry Klein said he felt that doing an outside audit was the best way to determine whether police acted reasonably in conducting the investigation.

"I haven't changed my mind," Klein said Tuesday.

Council Member John Barton said he needs to learn more before taking a strong stance on the probe's merits.

"At this point I don't know what happened," Barton said. "That's why I voted
for it."

City Manager Frank Benest also announced at the council meeting that he'll launch a review of the city's general accounting and cash-flow practices.

In following up on suspicions that some theater employees were skimming money and double-dipping on expense reports, the police department shut down the theater Jan. 24 for a short period and four employees were placed on administrative leave. Assistant director Michael Litfin died from stomach cancer Feb. 1, and costume supervisor Alison Williams has since returned to work. Theater director Pat Briggs and program assistant Richard Curtis remain on leave, awaiting an administrative decision on their possible termination around June 20.

But the theater's main nonprofit fundraiser, Friends of the Palo Alto Children's Theatre, has maintained that the investigation was flawed. Friends spokesman Ralph King said his nonprofit supports the audit and hopes it will get to the bottom of how the investigation was conducted.

Council Member Yiaway Yeh, who cast the dissenting vote, said an audit seems like a distraction from the root problems. Most of the community concern centers on the separate administrative investigation of what went wrong by the city manager's office and the possible firing of Briggs and Curtis, he said. And if Benest is going to look into the city's overall accounting practices, that's where the attention should go, he added.

Although he's received several e-mails disagreeing with his decision, Yeh said he stands by it.

"We should be focusing on healing the community," he said. "A police audit
isn't going to heal the community."

Police Chief Lynne Johnson could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Received on Wed Jun 11 14:29:08 2008