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Facing resistance from the Palo Alto Police Department, the Palo Alto City Council reluctantly agreed on Monday to keep police radio communication encrypted and inaccessible to the media and the public.

During a long discussion that stretched well past midnight, council members repeatedly acknowledged that Police Chief Robert Jonsen’s abrupt move in January 2021 to encrypt radio communications conflicts with the public’s right to know about what’s happening in the community and hinders the media’s ability to cover breaking news. They also largely supported a bill proposed by state Sen. Josh Becker that would require law enforcement agencies to make radio communications accessible while protecting personally identifiable information…