SANTA CRUZ >> Police Chief Kevin Vogel said Thursday the department”s public information officer will no longer speak on behalf of a police managers union to avoid confusion between the roles.

The move comes after Deputy Chief Steve Clark, acting in his role as head of the Police Managers Association, gave a television interview Tuesday labeling City Council candidate Leonie Sherman, who participated in high-profile protests at UC Santa Cruz and Seattle, as an anarchist.

Clark was not wearing his police uniform during the interview — although he often doesn”t during appearances as the department”s spokesman — and was identified on TV as a member of the union that represents himself and five other high-ranking officers.

“He was clearly speaking on behalf of the Police Management Association, although we do understand, how in his official capacity in the Police Department as the interim press officer, the community could have been confused about his role,” Vogel told the Sentinel. “As we move forward — Steve and I discussed this — someone else will speak on behalf of the PMA.”

However, Clark will continue his interim duties as department spokesperson, a role he has played since the previous spokesman left for an elected seat on the county Board of Supervisors. The department has been searching for a new PIO for about a year.

Sherman, a 42-year-old self-defense instructor for public schools and other community organizations, denies being an anarchist but stands behind her participation in the 1999 World Trade Organization protests, during which she was arrested after hanging a protest banner on the freeway. She also acknowledged training demonstrators to climb redwoods as part of the 2007 university tree-sit targeting campus growth plans.

Sherman said neither Clark nor the leader of the Santa Cruz Police Officers Association seen in the TV report contacted her to discuss her history, although she has worked with police in the past on self-defense courses and is paid by the city”s Parks and Recreation Department to teach. The two police groups have endorsed three other candidates in the Nov. 4 contest.

“I”m really proud of my involvement in a historic and nonviolent protest,” Sherman said of the Seattle events. “I stood with thousands of union leaders, faith-based activists, environmentalists, my 16-year-old sister and my mom in bringing attention to an antidemocratic organization that was shipping American jobs overseas and rolling back environmental protections in this country.”

Political rights

Vice Mayor Don Lane, who has endorsed Sherman as well as a more politically moderate incumbent, said the TV story raised several red flags.

“My biggest concern is that the credibility and the positive community perception of our excellent Police Department could be compromised when a top figure in the department makes partisan public statements — even as a union representative — that do not seem to be supported by evidence,” said Lane, noting that “harsh accusations” are common for political groups.

“When these accusations are unfounded, they tend to backfire and actually help the candidate that was victimized by those unfounded accusations,” Lane said. “This effect can be amplified when the accuser is perceived as using his public position to lend credibility to his accusation.”

Chief Vogel said Clark told him before the TV interview that he had been asked to comment on Sherman”s past, but the chief said he did not know what Clark intended to say.

“I don”t dictate bargaining unit communication,” Vogel said of labor groups. “I didn”t tell him what he could or could not say.”

City Manager Mart?n Bernal said he received several complaints from the public regarding Clark”s comments but said employees have the right to speak out on political issues.

“They have a lot of leeway,” Bernal said. “Bargaining units are very much involved in campaigns and traditionally have been, in terms of fundraising, endorsing candidates, doing all kinds of events, forums.”

History with anarchists

Santa Cruz police investigators, including Vogel, have long documented anarchist groups they believe to have played a role in the annual unpermitted New Year”s Eve Do-It-Yourself parade and the 2010 May Day riot that damaged several downtown businesses. But Vogel said, to his knowledge, his agency has no investigative information that Sherman is an anarchist, and Clark said he has no knowledge she was involved in the May Day protest.

However, in an interview Thursday, Clark said he believes Sherman”s participation in the tree-sit that drew a heavy police response, as well as the Direct Action Network that played a role in the Seattle protests, reflect an anarchist philosophy. He stands by remarks that Sherman is poorly positioned for a seat in city government, where she could influence police policies and budgets.

“To us, there is a clear difference between protesting and having your voice heard and attacking the Police Department and engaging in destruction and damage to property and participation in some very dangerous groups,” Clark said. “In Seattle, she participated in a protest that resulted in the need to arrest her and the need to tie up police resources. So that is a different level of commitment than being involved in nonviolent protest.”

Sherman acknowledged training tree sitters who ascended to platforms in redwoods on Science Hill at UCSC but said she was in the trees for just a short period of time.

By contrast, she said her work in Seattle was more involved, including months of planning to ensure protests remained nonviolent, though she wasn”t a Direct Action Network participant before Seattle. Part of the demonstrations involved a black bloc-style march that devolved into clashes with police, but Sherman said she spoke out against those activities immediately afterward.

Sherman said she is not concerned about the impact on her campaign, which she said is rooted in walking neighborhoods talking about issues like water supply and homelessness.

“I”m confident the voters of Santa Cruz can distinguish between nonviolent protest and anarchy,” she said. “I”ve worked with law enforcement in the past and will continue to have great working relations with our Police Department.”