african-american male achievement, a program of oakland unified school district and retired judge ladoris cordell. she's the city of san jose's independent auditor, a former vice provost at stanford university and a former palo alto city councilwoman. thank you all so much for coming in today. you know, we aren't seeing these protests nightly anymore, but we really saw a lot of unrest in our communities in the past few months. this obviously after the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of white police officers and the grand jury decisions to not bring any criminal charges against these officers. we have michael brown of ferguson and eric garner in new york. judge, let's begin with you because you're in sort of a unique position as the independent police auditor of the city of san jose. there's so much distrust between the community and the police departments. where's this coming from. how do we get here and how do we move on from here? >> it's difficult to put into just a couple seconds how we got here but let us just say that the issue of race in america has always been the elephant in the

. >> reporter: lining up all that evidence can take a while, says kpix 5 legal analyst judge ladoris cordell. the d.a. has to be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. >> right now, i don't think people should be too concerned but as time goes on, i would say if it gets to six months or more i think we should all be asking questions about why nothing has happened. >> reporter: so now there's another wrinkle we have learned about. investigators have had some trouble tracking petrov down to talk to him. he is struggling with mental illness and has head injuries. the alameda county district attorney has decided not to pursue any charges against him. no charges there. but what about for the deputies? no specific date. but my sources tell me look for a decision, quote, very soon. reporting live in the newsroom, i'm joe vazquez, kpix 5. >>> new at 6:00 santa clara needs a new mayor and we're hearing who the lead candidate is and for the 49ers she might be tougher than any opponent they have faced on a field. kpix 5's devin fehely in santa clara with the big changes that could be on the

a retired judge ladoris cordell who works with law enforcement on issues of race argues the messages have been mixed. >> beyonce performed never once did she mention the police. however, the imagery is such that and her words and her song was such that they brought up all kinds of racial issues. >> reporter: that distinction isn't clear to the national sheriffs association. their website reads, quote, the senseless killing of four law enforcement officers just this week on the heels of the anti- police entertainment at the super bowl halftime show reminds us that the men and women in law enforcement take a solemn over the that includes putting their lives on the line every day to protect our citizens. it shows how blurred the lives have become and shows the difference between "black lives matter" and law enforcement. that cordell hopes it won't get worse before it gets better. >> this protest represents the dreary state of conversation in this country about race and specifically about racial injustices. >> reporter: this is a hard topic for anyone. it's hard for police. it's hard for