Why this supervisor's apology to Black man he kicked out after racist incident fell flat

Shasta County Supervisor Patrick Jones apologized to Nathan Pinkney at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting for the racist slur that a man used in the same chamber a week earlier.

The public apology did little to heal the room or quell the tensions at Tuesday’s meeting.

Residents packed the chamber to protest against Chairperson Jones’ failure to condemn the use of the N-word by Alex Bielecki, a white man, at the May 30 meeting.

Jones sparked fury when instead he had a security guard escort out Pinkney, a Black man and Black Lives Matter activist, who reacted to hearing the racist epithet by yelling profanities. The incident reverberated around California.

Before the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting, Jones said Bielecki’s use of the racist slur “most likely” could have been handled differently. He called Bielecki “unpleasant” but said he is entitled to his constitutional rights and reiterated that if he had denied Bielecki his speech it would have violated his First Amendment rights.

The crowd in unison yelled out, “Not for that word.”

“Even for that word,” Jones replied.

As Jones spoke, many in the chamber turned their backs on him, some booed and jeered.

Jones ended his statement by asking Pinkney to join him in front of the dais so he could apologize to him.

“We don't agree on many political things, but there is one thing that we 100% agree on, there is no room for racism in Shasta County," Jones said as applause broke out. “On behalf of the entire Shasta County Board of Supervisors … I extend my deepest apologies for the actions of Mr. Bielecki.”

Jones and Pinkney then shook hands and Pinkney returned to his seat.

But many who spoke during the ensuing public comment period criticized Jones for waiting a week to speak up and for not apologizing for his actions.

Lisa Jensen was among those who scolded Jones.

She told Jones he needs to be better than "waiting a week to have a photo op when you didn't even apologize for your actions."

Retired educator Trent Copland told Jones that the words "but" or "however" have no place in an apology.

"It's disingenuous and therefore unacceptable," Copland said.

When it came his turn to talk during public comment, Pinkney told Jones that his apology fell flat.

“If you had apologized for your own actions, I would have accepted that apology. But I do not,” he said.

Others who spoke asked for Jones to be removed as chair of the Board of Supervisors.

More: Shasta DA to investigate racist slur used at meeting: 'Quash this before it gets worse'

By contrast, Supervisors Mary Rickert and Tim Garman were lauded Tuesday for their willingness to speak up and apologize at the May 30 meeting for Bielecki use of the racist slur.

The incident has drawn responses from groups like the Shasta Equal Justice Coalition, Shasta County Citizens Advocating Respect, the Butte County branch of the NAACP, the United Way of Northern California and Shasta County Interfaith Forum.

Bielecki didn’t speak during the first part of Tuesday’s meeting and he didn’t appear to be in attendance. Supervisors recessed at noon after taking nearly three hours of public comment. They returned to discuss next year’s budget.

Meanwhile, dozens showed up outside the board chamber in downtown Redding before Tuesday’s meeting to protest and listen to speakers, including Pinkney, who said this was not about him but a bigger issue.

“Bigotry is not only condoned, it’s actually defended,” Pinkney told the crowd.

Supervisor Chris Kelstrom during Tuesday’s meeting said he did condemn Bielecki’s use of the N-word but he wasn’t vocal about it at the time.

“Nathan, I apologize that you had to hear that word,” Kelstrom said.

Kevin O’Rorke, associate superintendent of the Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Community College District, said what happened May 30 crossed political lines, that it wasn’t about being liberal, Democrat, or Republican, but “about being right or wrong.”

Supervisor Rickert during public comment apologized to Pinkney and made a motion for supervisors to adopt code of conduct rules, which they discussed in March but did not adopt.

While many in the chamber supported Rickert's motion, some were critical.

Mark Kent, a far-right political activist and supporter of Jones, called Pinkney a “professional victim” and what has unfolded since the May 30 meeting is an “opportunity to turn this into a racism thing.”

As he spoke, many in the chamber turned their back on him and verbally chastised him.

At times during Kent's speech, Jones had to call for order and in the chamber as Kent argued with the crowd, and at one point Jones asked Kent to address supervisors not the audience.

“White supremacist. Is that any less racist, calling somebody a white supremacist with no evidence … or do you guys get to say whatever you want, but we get to shut up? If we disagree with you, then we’re a white supremacist, we’re whitey, we’re fascists, we’re Nazis,” Kent said.

Somebody in the audience yelled out, "that's different."

"Oh, it's different for you, right? So, in other words, you want a set of rules that favors one person over the other. You want a set of rules that says you get to say what you want but the other ones don't," Kent countered.

Supervisors voted 5-0 to discuss code of conduct rules to a future meeting.

David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County supervisor's apology for racist incident falls flat