SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Councilmember Jeff Harris on Tuesday rescinded his call for Sacramento Community Police Review Commissioner Keyan Bliss to be removed over comments that included Bliss calling Harris "racist as Jim Crow."
The initial comments came during a Sept. 13 city council meeting where Sacramento officials voted to pass a new military equipment use policy for police.
Bliss took the podium during public comment and, including his description of Harris, accused the city council of frequently ignoring police review commission recommendations for increased accountability.
Harris said Bliss had violated rules and procedures with his behavior, and diminished the efficacy of the commission with his conduct.
"The fact remains that our commissions are reflective of the council and this council—I can speak for myself—I would never call any of the speakers who spoke tonight racist," Harris said during a recent council meeting. "You don't hear council members swearing back at members of the audience when we disagree with your opinions."
But Bliss doubled down on Monday during an unrelated news conference with Councilmember Katie Valenzuela where he reiterated his previous comments.
"The city council's silence in the face of Jeff Harris's racist behavior, coupled with their attempts to silence or retaliate against people with the courage to call it out, continues to show how city council culture prioritizes their own members comfort at the public's expense," Bliss said.
More than one dozen supporters of Bliss spoke in defense of him during Tuesday's public comment, calling for him to remain as vice chair of the Sacramento Community Police Review Commission.
But it was support from his fellow commissioners that Harris said swayed him to reverse his call for Bliss' removal.
"After hearing the testimony of (other commissioners) I, at this point, think that since they believe that Keyan Bliss should stay on the commission, then I withdraw my request to remove him," Harris said.
