Naked City

Naked City Edited by Louisa C. Brinsmade, with contributions this week by Andrea Barnett and Dave Cook.

APD SIGNS AGREEMENT AFTER CEDAR AVE. INCIDENT: February's so-called Cedar Avenue "police riot" was in the news once again when officials released a nine-page "agreement" last week between the Austin Police Department (APD), citizen members of the Committee for Justice Advisory Council (CJAC), and the City of Austin.

The CJAC began meeting at the beginning of April with Department of Justice Community Relations Official Efrain Martinez, at the request of APD Police Chief Elizabeth Watson, who brought Martinez in to smooth things over after a Valentine's Party turned into a melee when at least 68 police responded to an "officer down" call. Three officers were sent to the hospital with injuries, including one with a serious head wound, and teens and their chaperones say they were abused by police, several also requiring medical attention.

The "agreement" outlines CJAC's desire for - and APD's commitment to - better recruiting of minorities, racial balance in promotions, improved and increased multicultural training for officers, and better community relations. The department also agreed to establish a Chief's Forum, or policy review committee, made up of representatives from "neighborhood associations, civic groups, education/youth services, the business community and representative(s) of the police associations." The Chief's Forum, according to the agreement, will "advise the chief and her top command staff in policy directives and the implementation of community policing."

CJAC members have agreed to continue meeting at least once every six months for the next year and a half as the Agreement Monitoring Committee, to review the implementation of the agreement. Mayor Bruce Todd also pledged at last Friday's press conference that city council will hold "public accountability sessions" every six months for the same purpose.

Committee participants include representatives from the Black Citizens Task Force, the Austin Area Urban League, and the Alliance of Neighborhood Organizations of East Austin, as well as the city and APD. None of the participants were present at the Cedar Avenue party in February, according to committee members, because some citizens involved in the incident are considering litigation.

Those citizens have criticized the three governmental entities conducting investigations for not interviewing members of the family who hosted the party. Ira Bedford and members of his family attended a city council meeting in May to complain that even though the Martinez group was holding meetings, the FBI was issuing a preliminary report, and the police department was conducting its own Internal Affairs investigation, no one contacted them to hear their version of the events.

But on Monday, July 17, FBI supervisor Rick Copeland said the Federal Bureau of Investigation did finally speak with the citizens involved in the incident, albeit after issuing its preliminary report to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Officials at the DOJ sent back the report requesting more information. The FBI sent a final report to the DOJ a few weeks ago, Copeland says, but that report is not available to the public. Now, he says, the DOJ could either drop the matter, request futher investigation, or subpeona a grand jury and seek indictments. Meanwhile, the APD's own Internal Affairs investigation is ongoing.

A number of people have filed notice of claims with the city, hoping for compensation for the abuse they allegedly received from police. Kelly Evans, attorney for 15 of the claimants, says that he has had conversations with the city attorney's and claims offices, but no agreement has been reached. There have been no lawsuits filed yet over the incident, but Evans doesn't rule it out. "There may be if we can't reach satisfaction," he says. - A.B.

SHELLING OUT FOR THE GAME: A few weeks ago, Phoenix Firebirds General Manager Craig Pletenik revealed in an Austin American-Statesman interview that only about 300 charter seat options (CSOs) had been sold so far towards the team's goal of 4,000 since the start of sales in June. The team needs to raise $12 million, their share of the proposed $22 million stadium, and only has until the end of September to get it.

This news, along with increased pressure from Save Austin From Extravagance (SAFE) to force the council to put the city's $10 million in council-approved Certificates of Obligation (COs) up for a public vote, seemed to threaten the future of minor league baseball in Austin. But at a press conference last Friday, Firebirds officials announced that two local corporate media sponsors - the Austin American-Statesman and KLBJ radio - had kicked in big-time bucks to become "building partners" in the new stadium. (While the Statesman reported that its contribution was $100,000, no figure was mentioned for KLBJ, but "that's what [KLBJ] did as well," says Pletenik, "that's what the price tag is.") According to Pletenik, "It's whatever package they want in the CSOs for $40,000; the rest [$60,000] is for advertising rights."

What the Statesman got, as related by Donya Ginest, the paper's marketing director, reads like a veritable "Twelve Days of Christmas": "We get a skybox, which is a box in the stadium where you can entertain guests, 12 season tickets, eight preferred parking spaces, entrance signage and outfield signage..." as well as eight CSOs "in the first and second rows." The Statesman's $100,000, adds Ginest, will be paid off with "part advertising, part cash," which means that the Firebirds will enjoy free promotions and advertising space in the pages of the daily.

"As far as KLBJ is concerned," Pletenik says, "it's the first step in securing [game] broadcasting rights," presumably on their AM station. Mark Caesar, programming director for KLBJ-AM, says "We're not paying any cash - our arrangement is we'll do promotions" in exchange for many of the same amenities the Statesman will receive - with one important extra. "KLBJ-FM will be able to sponsor musical events at the stadium," says Caesar. Will KLBJ then have exclusive rights to alternative events at the stadium? "I would imagine so," says Caesar. "We would be the only station with a presence at those events at the stadium." Pletenik adds that while the sponsorship/advertising portion of most building partner deals will be good for seven years, the KLBJ agreement is only for three years, again keeping in line with the notion of opening broadcast rights to new bidders after a few years. "Each one of these building partner packages will be a little different based on the company's needs," Pletenik says, but what they get will be similar to what the Statesman got: "skybox, CSOs, tickets, permanent signage, [and] other marketing opportunities."

At the press conference last Friday, Firebirds owner Martin Stone said that they have "virtually reached final agreement with six" more building partners. Pletenik would not reveal who the six were, but said, "we're thinking in terms of categories - soft drinks, beer, possibly car dealers, banks." - D.C.