Chapel Hill will hold an online forum on Yates raid

An online discussion forum will delay and possibly replace plans for a private investigation into the Yates Motor Company building raid.

But some residents doubt the forum — which will allow anyone to comment on the Nov. 13 police break-up of a trespassing “Occupy Everything” encampment — will be an effective way to create a timeline of what actually happened.

The Community Policing Advisory Committee had proposed that the town hire a private investigator to examine the breakdown in communication during the raid, but Town Manager Roger Stancil presented the website as an alternative proposal at Monday’s Chapel Hill Town Council meeting.

The online forum will be public and reviewed by the committee.

Stancil said the website would allow anyone to submit information about the incident, and information can be submitted anonymously.

The council passed the proposal 6-1. Council member Donna Bell was not present to vote because she was sick.

Council member Laurin Easthom, the only member to vote against it, said she couldn’t support the measure because, though he had been asked to, Stancil did not tell the council how much an independent investigation would cost.

She also said she didn’t have enough time to review the alternative, which was emailed to the council members less than three hours before the meeting.

“I’m glad (Stancil) took the time to look into other options but that’s not the option I wanted,” Easthom said.

The advisory committee was tasked Jan. 9 with reviewing the raid in response to outcry over Stancil’s Jan. 6 internal report, which relied heavily on testimony from the police department and town officials.

The council did not want to allocate funds to a private investigation, and instead, passed Stancil’s web forum plan.

The advisory committee can revisit the idea of an independent investigation only after they have tried Stancil’s proposal.

If the advisory committee deems the online forum inadequate, the plan for an independent investigation will still not pass unless five council members vote for it.

“I believe that, based on the opinion of council members, there is not enough support for an individual fact finding group,” said council member Lee Storrow, who is in favor of a private investigation.

Jessica Smith, the committee’s deputy vice chair, declined to comment on the proposal before the committee’s Feb. 8 meeting.

Protester Alex Kotch said he does not think the website matches an independent investigation as a fact-finding tool.

“I think this is a total cop-out by the manager,” Kotch said. “I support the website, but I do not support the website as a substitute to the investigation.”

He said he thinks the website is insufficient because the committee doesn’t have the time, resources or expertise to look through hundreds of accounts to produce a timeline.

Resident Geoffrey Gilson said in an email that the website also needs to provide for the emotional needs of the community.

“If this exercise is truly to move our community forward, then it must be more than a cold recitation of facts,” Gilson said. “It must also be cathartic. Many in our community who were not eye-witnesses have been deeply disturbed by what happened. ”

The policing advisory committee will discuss the alternative proposal at their Feb. 8 meeting.

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