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NAMED NATIONAL FOUR-YEAR DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR FOR 2020-21 IN THE COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION’S PINNACLE AWARDS

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Volume 158 No. 15

USE OF FORCE ASSESSMENT OF SJPD: KEY FINDINGS CNA, a nonprofit organization that provides research and solution-oriented analyses, reported an in-depth assessment of the San Jose Police Department. The report comes after the team gathered interviews, document reviews and community-listening sessions. – The SJPD Duty Manual doesn’t define resistance levels nor does it consistently indicate which level of resistance would justify various force options. It also doesn’t have sufficient instruction about officers’ duty to provide medical attention. – The SJPD doesn’t have a review board and doesn’t provide sufficient clarity in the definition of force or on some elements related to electronic control weapons. – It also doesn’t provide sufficient post-incident guidelines for officers, particularly for incidents involving lethal force. – Black and Hispanic community members are arrested more frequently than would be predicted based on their proportion of San Jose’s population compared with white community members; however, among those arrested, use of force levels for Black and Hispanic community members are akin to white community members. – The number of use-of-force events wasn’t significantly affected by the coronavirus pandemic and 2020 social justice movements. Both the number of calls for service and arrests were significantly lower after these events began.

INFOGRAPHIC BY BRYANNA BARTLETT; SOURCE: FEBRUARY 2022 USE OF FORCE ASSESSMENT OF SAN JOSÉ POLICE DEPARTMENT

Officials discuss SJPD reports Effectivenes & appropriateness of protest response, use of force examined By Jennifer Schildge STAFF WRITER

San Jose City Council met Tuesday on Zoom and in person to discuss three police-related reports during the peak of local Black Lives Matter protests. After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, protests took place across cities worldwide. In response to the community concern about policing in San Jose, Mayor Sam Liccardo and city council members obtained independent assessments regarding the San Jose Police Department from outside professionals who assess policies and manage organizations. The reports examine the police department in three areas: its response to protest activity, use of force and implementation of principles from President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The task force examines how to strengthen public trust in police and create strong relationships between the community and law enforcement, according to the White House archives for Barack Obama. The first report detailed protest activity and was conducted by OIR Group. OIR Group works with local governments, community members and police agencies to address challenges regarding policing and collaborate on sustainable recommendations, according to its website. The report was presented by OIR Group members Michael Gennaco, Teresa Magula and Julie Ruhlin and presented 32 recommendations for the SJPD. OIR Group emphasized a need for better tracking in the use of force. Recommendation number five

stated that SJPD and the city should engage with the community as it considers requirements for a protest to be an “unlawful assembly.” The second recommendation stated that SJPD should ensure all lieutenants are well-versed in the fundamentals of the Incident Command System and capable of serving as the Incident Commander. The Incident Command System

system of budgeting and planning implementations. Green means that the implementations are applied immediately within their current budget. Blue refers to the continuation of existing efforts that are currently implemented. Yellow items are potential or future implementations that require more analysis by the department. The last category is orange, which refers to

minimum resistance level needed for each use-of-force option. The 21st century policing assessment of the SJPD found the department operates with fewer police officers than other cities of similar size and made or implemented progress with action items of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Christoff said he has 188 recommendations that will be divided into four categories going forward. Councilmember Maya Esparza said while “some of the work” was already underway, the council recognizes there is still a need to ensure innovations for policing are fully implemented. “I think continuing these efforts ensures that the police department is achieving its goal of treating people with dignity, fairness and respect,” Esparza said during the meeting. Liccardo said there’s “plenty Sam Liccardo to pick at” with a total of over San Jose mayor 300 recommendations for the SJPD to work on. He raised questions refers to the combination of facilities, items that require collaboration with about the reports, saying he wanted equipment, personnel, procedures outside agencies. to see what the police department and communications operating “I acknowledge the harm our is prioritizing. within a structure designed to aid in actions had on our community and Near the end of the meeting, the management of resources during am committed to improving our Liccardo said he sees an incident response, according to the response in the future,” Mata said “overwhelmingly positive picture.” Public Health emergency website. during the meeting. “People will need to understand “We have had a chance to briefly Tom Christoff, senior research that they do have a department of look at the police department’s scientist at CNA, a nonprofit research women and men who are deeply response to our recommendations analysis corporation, presented the committed to serving them and we are gratified to see that they are next two reports. and doing better,” Liccardo said. largely in agreement with the thrust Other key recommendations of the recommendations,” Gennaco included the use-of-force assessment said during the presentation. “The which stated the SJPD should find a devil will be in the details of course.” new use-of-force reporting system Police Chief Anthony Mata said that allows for “better information in response to the report, 28 out entry, case tracking, review, analyses, of 32 recommendations have been and summary report creation.” implemented. They are designed The report said that the Follow Jennifer on Twitter for green analysis. SJPD should have a better definition @kyIojen This refers to a color-coded of “resistance” and state the

People will need to understand that they do have a department of women and men who are deeply committed to serving them and doing better.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

JENNIFER’S REEL REACTIONS

ILLUSTRATION BY BIANCA RADER

Branagh’s fake pyramids, real laughs Agatha Christie adaptation is wooden then witty; a solid plot saves flimsy film By Jennifer Schildge STAFF WRITER

British filmmaker and actor Kenneth Branagh’s second adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel “Death on the Nile” has an entertaining and campy feel. Camp is an aesthetic style that makes something interesting because of its bad taste and ironic nature according to a May 7, 2019 BBC article. Released on Feb. 11, “Death on the Nile” is directed by Branagh, who also

stars in the movie, and is based off of Christie’s most daring travel murder mystery novel where an alluring honeymoon party cruise along the Nile River is shattered by the murder of Linnet Ridgeway, a young and stylish woman who seemingly had everything. The film, set in 1937, begins in a black and white noir style showing the history of Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot, played by Branagh. While it felt like the director tried to break the record for longest first act of a movie, Branagh also spent a substantial

The hard part of producing a mystery film isn’t solving a crime, it’s keeping an audience entertained; I found myself bored waiting for someone to die.

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amount of time experimenting with different visuals. The monochrome cinematography faded away and went into another direction with impressively shot scenes of a glamorous club. The mesmerizing club scene, which introduces viewers to the main characters, includes a gorgeous wardrobe with characters seductively dancing to jazz music. I wanted to know who the people in the shot were but as the film progressed and the characters’ personalities showed, it all went downhill. The film has an ensemble cast, meaning there are multiple characters rather than one central protagonist making it difficult for viewers to connect even a little bit with all of the individuals. The hard part of producing a mystery film isn’t solving a crime, it’s keeping an audience entertained; I found myself bored waiting for someone to die. Linnet is played by Gal Gadot and

movie review “Death on The Nile” Rating:

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh Starring: Gal Gadot, Emma Mackey Genre: Mystery

as much as the movie tried to convince me that she was alluring, every line she said sounded like something from a Super Bowl halftime commercial. There were times I giggled because MYSTERY | Page 3

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT MYSTERY Continued from page 2 of her line delivery. Her face was inexpressive, making it hard to connect with the character even when she died. It doesn’t help that her partner throughout the movie, Simon Doyle, is played by Armie Hammer, who I can’t take seriously. His acting was mediocre and I was mostly engrossed in the mesmerizing world Agatha Christie created; I could separate the allegations of sexual assualt from his craft. Hammer was accused in 2017 of sexually assaulting a woman who said she met Hammer on Facebook in n 2016 when she was 20 years old, according to a March 18, 2021 Variety article. Hammer’s attorney denied the allegations, according to the article. Emma Mackey from Ne t f l i x’s series

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

“Sex Education,” single handedly carried the movie as Jacqueline “Jackie” de Bellefort. From the minute you see her to the last shot she’s in, she’s captivating. Jackie was Linnet’s old friend and the film’s main antagonist. Jackie introduced Linnet to Simon in the jazz club at the beginning of the movie and told Linnet she was mad about him and he was her “true love.” In the next scene, Linnet and Simon are married and Jackie becomes the psychotic heartbroken ex. Mackey, who played one of the craziest characters, showed her derangement as tears bubbled in her big brown eyes as she described the heartbreak of Simon choosing Linnet to sleuth Hercule with a wicked smile. The camera panned down as she slowly pulled a gun half way out of her purse and described how there’s a reason the heart is the organ associated with love because the minute the heart

Seeing the gun and the tears in her eyes made me believe she could do something so irrational but so monumental.

stops beating, we die. I remember thinking, “Oh shit.” Seeing the gun and the tears in her eyes made me believe she could do something so irrational but so monumental. The first act takes place in Egypt but nothing was filmed on location, which was obvious. One scene had a character standing at the base of an obviously fake pyramid and I remember

thinking to myself “What ‘Saturday Night Live’ set is this?” It was a genuine pleasure to figure out the mystery. Mysteries are pure entertainment so I can make fun of the acting and sets while still having an enjoyable time. Even though I solved the mystery halfway through act two, the final scene between the ensemble cast had my whole theater row silently giggling while the characters pointed tiny guns at different people. But those giggles quickly turned into one collective gasp as we watched what unfolded – which I’ll leave a mystery – at the end of the movie. The final gasp was worth sitting through the two hour movie. I’d give this movie three out of five stars simply because it was entertaining. I had a laugh, I solved a murder and I went on a cruise. For what more could I ask? Follow Jennifer on Twitter @kyiojen

Jennifer’s reel reactions publishes every Wednesday.

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CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD PUZZLE

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SUDOKU PUZZLE Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

JOKIN’ AROUND “Why did the scarecrow win an award?”

“Because he was outstanding in his field!

SOLUTIONS

ACROSS 1. Top of the head 6. Most excellent 10. Discomfit 14. Female demon 15. Affirm 16. Footnote note 17. Birdlike 18. Arizona river 19. Chime 20. In deplorable condition 22. Desire 23. Demure 24. Grimy 26. Compensate for 30. French for “Room” 32. Literary genre 33. Migratory rainbow trout 37. Bezel 38. European currency (plural) 39. Therefore 40. Spokesperson 42. Religious law 43. Prevent legally 44. A small Hispanic shop 45. Noodles 47. Flee 48. A promiscuous woman 49. Mediator 56. Zero 57. Hint

58. Doctrine 59. Ear-related 60. Ailments 61. Intended 62. A novel 63. Vipers 64. Expire DOWN 1. Generous slice 2. Grotto 3. Twixt 4. Teller of untruths 5. Remedy 6. Loose-fitting 7. Anagram of “Live” 8. Only 9. Blathers 10. Front man 11. Cancel 12. Lively 13. Border 21. Snagged 25. Sick 26. Probabilities 27. Make secure by lashing 28. Portuguese folksong 29. Chimney 30. An elongated leather strip 31. Age 33. Japanese wrestling 34. Coastal raptor

35. Astir 36. Spanish lady 38. S. American cattle ranch 41. Eastern Standard Time 42. Laughable 44. Louisville Slugger 45. Ancient Athenian philosopher 46. Sound 47. Loamy deposit 48. Prig 50. L L L L 51. Mouthful 52. Diva’s solo 53. Temporary worker 54. Poems 55. Was a passenger

Feb.28

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COUNTERPOINTS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

ILLUSTRATION BY LINDSAY VILLAMOR

$30 million substance abuse-relief grant sparks controversy Drug harm-reduction programs are effective, inexpensive and humane

Amani Hamed EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Harm reduction programs work and are cheaper than allowing people to overdose and die on the streets. According to a study released in 2021 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the economic cost of opioid use disorder ($471 billion) and fatal opioid overdose ($550 billion) during 2017 totaled $1,021 billion in the U.S. This figure was reached by calculating the cost attributed to fatal opioid overdoses across 38 states and the District of Columbia, according to the study. The $30 million price tag of the Biden administration’s harm reduction program pales in comparison to how much opioid disorder and substance abuse disorder costs taxpayers every year. The grant program, created by the American Rescue Act, includes the distribution of “safe smoking kits” that include alcohol wipes and lip balm but not smoking pipes, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a Feb. 9 White House Press briefing. These harm reduction measures are aimed to prevent the spread of diseases including hepatitis C and herpes. Other benefits of the harm reduction programs eligible for the grant money administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, include safe injection sites where people can have intravenous drugs tested for fentanyl and be revived with Narcan in the case of an overdose. Narcan is a nasal spray opioid antagonist that temporarily reverses the effects of opioids and prevents death by drug overdose, according to the Narcan website. These are well-documented facts that many people support, including Bruce Copley, who works for the Santa Clara County Health System and has worked in public health and substance abuse treatment services for over 40 years. “I mean, in some ways, it’s what we did with HIV when we were doing needle exchange way back when,” Copley said regarding the safe smoking kits. “And you know, that was a big furor. ‘Why would you promote drug use and do needle exchange?’ Well, you’re dealing with a larger health issue, that if you don’t do that, it’s going to be worse for the community.”

These folks have swallowed the boot-strap myth that our society is a meritocracy in which everyone has the same choices and opportunities and many simply “choose incorrectly.” They believe wholeheartedly that personally they could never become addicted, not even in infinitely different circumstances, because they are morally more upright than people who seek and use drugs. Substance abuse disorder is a disease, not a choice. “The philosophy is that rather than prosecuting or persecuting, we need to help individuals that have a health issue; addiction is a health issue,” Copley said in a Zoom interview. “It’s not a criminal justice issue. It’s not an issue of will, it’s a medical issue that needs to be addressed as other medical conditions are, which is through interventions and treatment.” Copley said addiction can develop through myriad factors including genetic predispositions, a low pain threshold or a previous injury for which

Harm reduction programs are worth our time and our tax dollars, not just because they save money, but because they save people, human beings, who deserve to be saved. There is more than enough evidence to firmly support this, but many people won’t care. People who oppose harm reduction programs for substance abuse disorders don’t oppose them because harm reduction has been proven useless but because they’re callous and don’t believe addicts should be treated with dignity, respect or kindness.

a person was prescribed opioid drugs, causing them to become addicted. Copley also said environmental factors including poverty, lack of education, high stress or a lack of “pro-social activities” can contribute to substance abuse disorder and addiction. His statements are echoed by Adi Jaffe in an April 22, 2019 Psychology Today article, who also said adverse childhood

experiences including abuse can be a contributing factor to addiction. Harm reduction programs work. A 2012 meta-analysis from Europe, North America and Asia concluded that oral opioid substitution therapy, which replaces intravenous opioids such as heroin with opioids in pill form, reduces risk of HIV transmission among people who inject opioids by about 54%. Harm reduction programs are worth our time and our tax dollars, not just because they save money, but because they save people, human beings, who deserve to be saved. The true debate behind harm reduction isn’t whether or not we’d like to save money or what’s in it for the rest of us to save people who have been denigrated as degenerate and worthless. The true debate behind harm reduction is whether or not the people who abuse drugs deserve care. If we cannot see the humanity of an addicted person enough to believe they should be saved, even if it comes at our collective monetary expense, perhaps we are the ones who need to be rehabilitated. I’m not saying every person needs to personally volunteer at needle exchanges or rehabilitate their addicted relatives. Perhaps some of those people do not deserve a second chance to have a relationship with you but everyone deserves an unlimited number of chances to become healthy. We might not pay for the care of sick relatives at our own expense but we don’t tell them they don’t deserve medicine. This is no different. This is not an area of morality versus immorality, this is a public health issue.

Follow Amani on Twitter @Amani_Marie_

‘Safe smoking kits’ are a waste of taxpayer money and promote drug use

Travis Wynn PHOTO EDITOR

Recently, Joe Biden and his administration approved a $30 million grant toward the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to provide “safe smoking kits” to at-risk individuals. The smoking kits will have alcohol swabs and other materials to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases, including hepatitis and HIV, by hardcore drug users according to a Feb. 9 statement from Jen Pasaki, White House Press Secretary. The Biden administration has advertised plans to fight the drug epidemic but never mentioned providing incentive to use hardcore drugs including crack cocaine and crystal meth. The SAMHSA grant would also provide more funding to local non-profit organizations for a range of services related to harm reduction and public health. According to the Biden administration, the goal is harm reduction and achieving racial equity. I can understand harm reduction but it’s hard to see how racial equity will be accomplished through the grant. Saying this is about race sounds like only a certain race does drugs. Drugs are not a racial problem, they’re a human problem. Facilitating crack cocaine and methamphetamine consumption is not something the federal government

should be doing and though not all $30 million is strictly going toward supplying users with safe-smoking equipment, taxpayers are still paying for some individuals’ drug habits. The money should instead be used to pay for treatment and care. Preventing drug use is far more important than allowing someone to use drugs safely. There are already state and government-run safe-syringe sites where people can dispose of used drug paraphernalia and acquire new needles. Santa Clara County Public Health has five needle exchange programs, some of which operate under a 280 overpass near the San Jose State campus.

smoking kits or cleaning supplies? It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money. The government is already spending money on many other programs aimed at issues including homelessness, vaccine availability and tests, on top of wealth equity issues. Even another stimulus check would make more sense than smoking kits. Doing drugs is already illegal, the government needs to find a way to incentivize people to be clean instead of supporting their habits in the name of racial equity. Yes, people will do drugs no matter what the government or anyone says or does. Those people are already lost and

Drugs are not a racial problem, they’re a human problem.

Some of the services offered are needle exchanges, free condoms, and as the Santa County Public Health website states, “Alternatives to injecting (supplies for snorting, smoking and booty bumping).” The government-run safe-syringe sites are enough to contain the risk heroin users bring to society including HIV from dirty needles. The sites allow users to bring in dirty needles and trade them in for new ones. One of the main reasons safe-syringe sites were implemented was because the sharing of needles was causing a public health issue. I have not seen public outcry or hospitals being flooded with victims of dirty crack or meth pipes. Why should taxpayers pay for drug users’ government-provided

will continue to make decisions to ruin their own lives. Giving alcohol swabs to crack cocaine users will not reduce any risk but potentially add to more litter on the ground. It’s very hard for me to believe a drug user is worried about their crack pipe being wiped down before they get their next high. People who do crack and meth will probably not be in a right enough mindset to clean their pipes. The grant says it will also provide condoms, testing for infectious diseases and vaccines for hepatitis A and B to at-risk individuals. The government should be helping reduce drug use. The weak attempt of swabs and “smoking kits” that are aimed to stop the spread of

hepatitis and HIV with alcohol swabs will probably do little to nothing. Life has only gotten worse with societal and economic problems. Providing tools to drug users is not how we fix the problem. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that 91,799 people died in 2020 from drug overdoses, an increase of more than 21,000 deaths compared to 2019. People who already did drugs did them at higher levels because of the forced isolation. Taxpayer dollars should not be used in any amount to facilitate hardcore drug use, regardless of our current social circumstances. Some politicians have already shared their outrage about the grant. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, introduced the Cutting Rampant Access to Crack Kits (CRACK) Act, which prohibits the government from using taxpayer funds for crack pipes or similar drug paraphernalia, according to a Feb. 10 press release. This should have been a law a long time ago. Locking people up for drug use isn’t the solution but neither is the government giving users tools to continue doing drugs. There is a drug epidemic in America and throwing money at the problem will not help end it, it will only add fuel to the fire. Only time will tell if the initiative will actually reduce harm to drug users and help with race equity.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022