By Jessie Mangaliman
Contra Costa Times
PALO ALTO, Calif. — After drawing accusations of racial profiling for her remarks about questioning black men in connection with a string of armed robberies, Palo Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson announced Thursday that she is retiring after almost 34 years of service.
Her last day will be Dec. 19. Assistant Chief Dennis Burns will be appointed acting chief.
Johnson, 57, and chief of the department of 170 for the past five years, unleashed a firestorm with her public remarks late last month when she instructed her officers to stop African-American men and “find out who they are.”
She made the remarks immediately following a community meeting about a string of street robberies that have worried many residents.
City officials in both Palo Alto and neighboring East Palo Alto, along with church pastors, legal and civil advocates, and African-American community leaders, denounced Johnson, saying her remarks were tacit proof that her department practiced racial profiling, as critics had long suspected.
Many residents of East Palo Alto, a city where one in five residents is black, criticized Johnson and called for her to resign.
Johnson quickly disavowed her remarks, which were captured on video, but the controversy continued to grow even as she set about to mend relations.
In an interview with the Mercury News on Wednesday, Johnson said she was preparing “an action plan” after the controversy. That included monthly citizen meetings with the police chief and regular community meetings between police officials and residents of both Palo Alto and East Palo Alto.
Those plans will be carried out by the acting chief, City Manager James Keene said Thursday afternoon. Keene also praised Johnson’s decision to retire, saying: “She put the interests of the department and the community first.” Before the city council approves her replacement, he said, the candidate will be vetted by a wide cross-section of the community.
“It’s extremely important that we get a diverse perspective,” he said.
Johnson was not immediately available.
In a news release that did not mention the controversy, Johnson said she had decided to retire “after considerable thought.”
“I have been extremely proud to be not only a member of the Department but also the leader of such a professional group of men and women for over the last five years,” Johnson said.
She did not say what she will do after retiring.
Johnson is one of a handful of female police chiefs in the Bay Area. Next February would have marked her 34th year in the department.
She cited as one of her top accomplishments the use of video recording in all patrol cars a measure installed to monitor police work after two officers were prosecuted for the 2003 beating of a black motorist.
East Palo Alto Mayor Patricia Foster declined to comment on Johnson’s retirement, saying, “That’s her personal decision.”
Johnson’s departure, Foster said, does not fix soured community relations with the Palo Alto police.
“The department still has a lot of work to do,” Foster said. “We need to see the practice of racial profiling by police stopped, please.”
Mercury News staff writer Tracey Kaplan contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 Contra Costa Newspapers