Rights Panel Rejected : NAACP Disappointed by Lancaster Defeat

Antelope Valley NAACP leaders said Tuesday they were disappointed by the Lancaster City Council’s rejection of their proposal to create a city commission to investigate allegations of civil rights violations.

“We are surprised,” said Patricia Williams, a board member of the Antelope Valley branch of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. “We had hoped there would be more dialogue.”

City Council members said they took no action Monday night because they believed that the NAACP’s proposals were too extreme. They said such a city commission was unnecessary because civil rights complaints are rare in Lancaster and numerous government agencies already deal with them.

“What they were asking went far beyond what the council thought was appropriate at this time,” Lancaster Mayor Lynn Harrison said.

Concerns Over Shootings

Last week, in the wake of concern about three fatal shootings in Lancaster by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in the past eight months, the NAACP presented numerous proposals to Lancaster officials.

The NAACP called for creating a commission that would investigate alleged civil rights violations by sheriff’s deputies and would evaluate the personnel policies of agencies and businesses contracting with the city. It also proposed a community relations committee for the Sheriff’s Department.

At Monday’s meeting, the council heard brief statements from two NAACP members. Harrison then read a statement saying that council action would be premature because the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is investigating two of the shootings criticized by black residents. And council members said that granting a citizens committee the power to investigate the Sheriff’s Department would be unprecedented and unwarranted.

“When you go into the general public to put people on these commissions, it’s not in the best community interest,” Councilman Arnie Rodio said Tuesday. “It becomes a political football. People use it as a sounding board.”

Rodio said he saw no need for a civil rights commission because numerous county, state and federal agencies look into disputes involving civil rights. A U.S. Justice Department mediator has held several meetings about the shootings with black leaders and city officials. Apart from the shootings, council members said, they know of no other allegations of civil rights problems in Lancaster.

No Specific Allegations

Williams acknowledged Tuesday that the NAACP had not presented any specific allegations to the council.

“If there had been dialogue with the council,” she said, the NAACP would have discussed other civil rights concerns.

One shooting that was criticized by some black residents involved Betty Aborn, a black woman and transient who was shot 18 times by three deputies at a fast-food restaurant in April. She was armed with a butcher knife.

On Tuesday, attorney Winston K. McKesson said he plans to file a wrongful death claim against the county on behalf of Aborn’s daughter, Mona Aborn. But he said he has not yet determined how much money he will ask for in damages.

Another incident involved an unarmed Asian student who was shot after allegedly assaulting a sheriff’s deputy last November.

The third case involved a former mental patient who was shot after leading deputies on a two-hour car chase last month. The victim, who was armed with a garden tool, was white. But critics said the incident showed that deputies are quick to use deadly force.