The town's new Community Policing Advisory Committee rejected the Town Council's request to help create a website for residents' comments about the Yates Motor Co. police raid.

The committee, which had asked for an outside investigator to look into the Nov. 13 raid on the vacant former car dealership downtown, said a website would not produce reliable information. After listening to them, Chapel Hill Town Council member Jim Ward, who was among those who had supported the website, said he was "fully swayed" by the committee's objections.

"I'm convinced it's not the way to go," he said.

Member Jessica Smith, an attoney who had originally proposed the outside investigator, said the website would not help the committee establish a factual record of events on which to base policy recommendations, its main charge.

"It makes no sense for me to review something you have absolutely no means to test the veracity of,"she said. "This proposal is just one step further down the road of degraded information."

The Chapel Hill Police Department’s raid on a former downtown car dealership taken over by squatters last fall was appropriate and in the best interests of the town, according to a report released today by Town Manager Roger Stancil.

The long-awaited internal review says the goal was to remove a group that had illegally entered the former Yates Motor Co. building at 419 W. Franklin St. without injury to anyone. The building was unsafe for human occupancy and the squatters indicated they intended to stay in the building indefinitely, Stancil said in a statement.

"The actions of the on-scene police commanders on November 13 were the best decisions that could be made given the information available at the time,” Stancil said.

The Town Council is scheduled to discuss the report Monday night. Its meeting beguns at 7 p.m. in Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Click the "Read More" button to see Stancil's memo:

More than six weeks after police evicted squatters from the Yates Motor Co., there's still a lot of questions.

The town is expected to release their report on the incident or at least update the council on their review on Jan. 9.

Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and Police Chief Chris Blue explained why the police acted as they did at a press conference the day after the arrests, but since then have said little about the details.

The Chapel Hill News has requested all correspondence between Town Manager Roger Stancil, Blue and, if any existed, with the Department of Homland Security.

Our request yielded nothing new, and only included press releases, e-mails and statements that we've seen before. Catherine Lazorko, the town's public information officer, said there has been no contact between town officials and Homeland Security both before and after the raid.

Two town commitees also met last week to discuss how to approach the report and what their role is in reviewing police action.

Read more about the question's we've asked and how the town has responded in tomorrow's Chapel Hill News.

The town’s internal review of last week’s arrests on Franklin Street is underway.

In a memo Tuesday, Stancil said Chief Chris Blue has started gathering information and reviewing police action at the former Yates Motor Co. building and that the report will be submitted to other town staff for review.

Stancil is also beginning discussions about the arrests with the town’s Community Policing Advisory Committee and the Justice in Action Committee, two citizen advisory groups whose members the town council appoints.

Discussions have also begun with the News & Observer, which has requested an official apology from the town for detaining on of its reporters as police secured the building.

“We are a learning organization that reviews our actions, especially in public safety and emergency management, to determine what went well and what we could do better the next time we are confronted with similar situations,” Stancil wrote. “I recognize that Chapel Hill has a long tradition of transparency in government and inviting residents to ask questions about the actions of local government in every arena of decision-making. The public trust in government is fragile in today's world and we must work hard to be good stewards of that trust.”

The town’s internal investigation does not preclude the Town Council from authorizing a separate, independent one. At Monday night’s council meeting, former Senate candidate Jim Neal petitioned the council to create an independent commission to review the use of police force and events that led to their response to a group of squatters who broke into the vacant car dealership on Nov. 13. The council voted to receive and refer that petition, and it will return to them for consideration on Jan. 9.

Stancil said he will periodically update the Town Council on the investigation submit a report to the board which will be made public.

Read the full memo below:

The Chapel Hill Police Department’s heavily armed raid on a group of squatters in a vacant building on Franklin Street last Sunday has caught elected leaders’ attenion in neighboring Carrboro.

On his Facebook page and local blog orangepolitics.org this week, Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton posted a 3,000-word essay on the challenges of being committed to non-violence while still being in charge of a police force. Chilton decided last week to send Carrboro police to assist Chapel Hill in case violence erupted. And while he supports the police, he also worries what impact the tactical team response may have.

“Now I fear that Sunday's display of force from CHPD will entrench many of the protesters in their rejection of non-violence as a basic organizing principle,” Chilton wrote. “This is what Dr. King meant when he so famously said "Violence begets violence." Each new act of violence only encourages the other side to escalate. And where does it all end? And what does it all accomplish?”

Occupy Chapel Hill demonstrators returned to their post Tuesday after voluntarily taking down their tents for Halloween.

The Chapel Hill Police Department had offered to increase the number of officers outside the Franklin Street post office site Monday night to protect the encampment. But the demonstrators offered to temporarily pull up stakes, said Amanda Ashley, an Occupy Chapel Hill participant from Carrboro.

The size of the town’s Halloween crowd presents a public safety issue, Ashley said.  “Leaving eliminated us as a concern for the police.”

About 27,000 people celebrated on Franklin Street Monday night.

Look for the complete story in tomorrow's News & Observer.
 

From correspondent Tammy Grubb

Chapel Hill police are seeking more information about the suspects who brandished guns in two separate downtown assaults.

The first incident, around 2:15 a.m. Saturday, happened as a group of eight UNC students were returning home after a night at La Residence Restaurant and Bar on West Rosemary Street. The students were in a parking lot near the corner of Pritchard Avenue and Rosemary Street when a white or silver SUV pulled up beside them.

According to police spokesman Lt. Kevin Gunter, the two men in the SUV started arguing with the students, accusing them of damaging another car parked in the lot. One of the suspects got out of the SUV and pointed a rifle at the students, Gunter said. The students quickly got in their car and drove away, he said. The man hit the students’ car as they left, causing minor damage, reports stated. No shots were fired.

The second incident, which Gunter said appears to be unrelated, happened around 1 a.m. Monday at the intersection of Henderson and East Franklin streets.
In that case, the 22-year-old male victim had just pulled up to the light when he noticed the rear window of the Jeep Cherokee beside him rolled down and a man in the back seat brandishing a silver handgun at him, Gunter said. When the light changed, the Jeep sped off, he said.

According to reports, there were three suspects in the Jeep. The victim, a UNC employee who did not want to talk about the incident when reached today, said he did not know the men or why they pulled the gun.

Gunter said these incidents are unusual for Chapel Hill, and police are seeking additional information about possible suspects. The victims were not able to provide very much information about either incident, he said.

“Hopefully, it is an isolated activity, and we won’t see that for some time,” Gunter said.

Anyone with information about either assault should contact the Chapel Hill Police Department at 919-968-2760.