County officials discuss George Floyd protests during Portola Valley “virtual coffee”

Portola Valley Mayor Jeff Aalfs hosted a “virtual coffee” Zoom meeting with local leaders on Thursday, June 4, covering topics related to the recent protests against police brutality, as well as COVID-19.

In attendance were San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley; Capt. Christina Corpus from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office; Roberta Zarea, superintendent of the Portola Valley School District; Karyn Bechtel, president of the Portola Valley School District board; and Jeremy Dennis, Portola Valley town manager.

Top of mind for many on the panel, as well as many in the audience live streaming the meeting, were the recent protests in San Mateo County, which drew hundreds of protesters last week. The protests occurred in response to the death of George Floyd, who died in the custody of Minneapolis police last week.

Captain Christina Corpus of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office reported on local law enforcement’s response to the protests which occurred in many cities throughout the county, including Menlo Park, Redwood City, and San Mateo.

“We support the protestors,” she said of their cause. “What we don’t support is looting and the destruction of property. And we know they’re not coming mainly from the protestors, they’re coming from outside sources, people taking advantage of the situation.”

Corpus said that the protests in the county were peaceful, and that looters were deterred. “I think the looters got the message that they probably don’t want to do that in San Mateo County because they found so many law enforcement officers,” she said. “We were also able to give a warning to the businesses.”

Corpus said that many businesses boarded up their establishments in order to prevent looting.

Supervisor Horsley addressed San Mateo County’s decision to temporarily enact an 8:30 p.m. curfew at the height of the protest activity last week. “It’s not something we take lightly,” he said. “We recognize that it was a pretty drastic step to take… But if all of our local businesses get trashed, then we feel responsible … We opted for public safety.”

Several in the audience asked how local leaders are addressing racism in the wake of the protests.

When asked what the schools are doing to promote anti-racism, Portola Valley School District superintendent Roberta Zarea said that prior to the recent protests, the district had already made commitments to improving equity in the schools, including hiring an equity trainer.

“If we were in school now, we’d be addressing these issues and having these conversations with our staff and students,” she said. “It’s a little tricky to do virtually … But we have been having discussions about the recent events, and discrimination in general … and what we can do in our own circle of influence.”