The Boulder city manager has responded to claims from the Boulder County NAACP regarding the ongoing dispute over the hiring of Police Chief Stephen Redfearn, which has reached a contentious peak. The city manager took issue with several actions by the NAACP members, including a "series of unethical and unacceptable actions" related to a confidential mediation session. The city manager's statement, as detailed by the City of Boulder.
According to the statement, the NAACP Boulder County chapter released a transcript on October 11th of a confidential meeting that took place in July, which they reportedly recorded without the knowledge or consent of the other participants. This action stands in violation of the agreed upon "Mutual Respect and Dialogue Agreement" and was supposedly used to coerce the city manager's hiring decision. The city manager expressed disappointment in this conduct, as per the City of Boulder, stating, "What I cannot tolerate is unethical behavior by people who purport to stand for progressive community values." The hiring of Redfearn follows scrutiny of his connections to the Elijah McClain case, though the city manager reiterated that Redfearn had no involvement in the incident and later testified for the prosecution.
Detailed descriptions of the mediated session revealed that during the three-hour meeting, attempts at candid discussion were met with what the city manager described as "shockingly disrespectful" behavior from NAACP participant Darren O'Connor and laughs from chapter president Annett James. The session concluded without reaching the intended results, and subsequent threats were allegedly made regarding the release of the recorded conversation.
Stuart Lord and Bill de la Cruz, the facilitators of the session, were cited as concurring with the city manager's concerns and have stepped back from future mediation efforts with the current leadership of the Boulder County NAACP. In a quote shared with the community, they expressed that the recent breach of confidentiality calls into question the ethical conduct of a Boulder County NAACP organization. Both Redfearn and the city manager have declined media interviews, standing behind the released statement as their effort to clarify the city's stance on the matter.
The city manager concluded with a call to the national NAACP organization to address the chapter's conduct, fostering hope for justice and ethical behavior to prevail in the quest for racial justice. The unfolding situation illustrates a profound rift not just between the NAACP and the City of Boulder but within the mission of trust and transparency that both organizations claim to uphold.
