Human Rights Monitoring Project of Mendocino and Lake Counties
The Human Rights Monitoring Project (HRMP) started five years ago for the purpose of keeping records on reports of police misconduct, educating the public about their rights under the law, and training people to observe and record police activities. A goal is to define which officers are doing what kinds of things to which people. The principles of nonviolence are central to HRMP as well, and trainings include nonviolence history, theory and practice.
In 1998 when Marvin Noble, a mentally ill Black man, was shot and killed by a Ukiah police officer, a group of concerned Ukiah residents formed the Mendocino County Commission on Human Rights (MCCHR). HRMP members attended MCCHR meetings for several months, then decided to fold HRMP's monthly meetings into the MCCHR's monthly meetings. Since many of the issues were so similar, it made sense to combine strength and energy to maximize what either group could do alone.
HRMP continues to focus on police accountability through public trainings, and to document reports regarding law enforcement. The MCCHR deals with a wider scope of issues. For instance, problems with the school district or local government offices other than law enforcement would be within the purview of the MCCHR.
MCCHR/HRMP meetings are on the third Monday of each month, 6:00 pm at Cheesecake Momma on the corner of N. School and Smith streets in Ukiah. The meetings are open to the public, and both the MCCHR and HRMP are soliciting people to help in this important work. A message can be left for either group at the Mendocino Environmental Center.
The website for the MCCHR is: http://home.inreach.com/beoden/mcchrindex.html
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1999
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