Human Rights Commission directs chair to contact complainant about Arcada homelessness concerns

The Humboldt County Human Rights Commission voted to have its chair contact a person who submitted a long, professionally prepared complaint alleging mistreatment of people experiencing homelessness in Arcada and to advise the complainant of other avenues, including the district attorney and the civil grand jury.

Commissioners discussed the scope and capacity of the commission to investigate broad, systemic allegations and noted they do not have the staff or investigatory power to conduct in-depth investigations. Several commissioners recommended that the complainant be advised to pursue the civil grand jury or the district attorney as bodies with investigatory authority. Commissioners also discussed the option of making a public statement but said any public comment should be contingent on verification of the complaint.

A motion to direct the chair to contact the complainant, find out what other agencies (if any) had been contacted and to recommend additional channels such as the district attorney and the civil grand jury was moved and seconded. The commission conducted a voice vote; a roll-call-style tally was recorded as nine in favor and one abstention.

The commission asked the chair to copy commissioners on the response so members would know what other avenues the complainant had pursued. Commissioners noted that in some respects the complaint appeared to concern Arcada municipal matters and might be best addressed by local authorities, but that the broader civil-rights issues raised could be within the commission’s purview if verified.

Next steps: the chair will contact the complainant, report back on what other agencies have been contacted and make recommendations to the commission about potential referrals or public statements. The commission did not undertake a formal independent investigation at this meeting.