Blacks account for 1.5 percent of the city's population, and a large contingent of law enforcement officers resides here. But some interested bystanders have protested the move. With a jury yet to be picked, officials of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People fear that an all-white panel will hear the racially charged case. Curiously, the same lawyers who gladly accepted Ventura County as the new venue now object to its proximity to Los Angeles. The implication is that if the officers are convicted, their lawyers could argue on appeal that a fair trial was as impossible here as it would have been in Los Angeles.
Residents express surprise and some discomfort at the sudden scrutiny of their city.
Mayor Stratton says people here are as capable as anyone of ignoring extraneous factors and judging the case on its merits. Some people perceive that as being support for the police, but I think that's support for what's right. We do not tolerate people who break the law, including police officers. It might say something about those 12 jurors, but not about Simi.