If ever there was a case that cries out for prominent leadership in San Jose, the shooting of Bich Cau Thi Tran does.

But our elected leadership has adopted such a low profile in this case of the police shooting of a disturbed woman that I had to search for signs of life.

It was an odd scene Wednesday in front of City Hall, where gray-haired old men and longtime community activists demonstrated outside that bland but functional City Hall. Nearly a week earlier the grand jury had decided not to indict the police officer who killed the 25-year-old mother of two in her kitchen. And the mayor's subsequent comments essentially said to them that everything is as it should be. Police rules and procedures were followed, nothing needs review or changing.

San Jose, in its characteristically detached way, has handled the anguished concern by punting it to the grand jury.

``Who runs this city?'' asked resident Sam Ho at the rally. ``Where are they?''

The silence from City Hall, as the saying goes, has been deafening. So deafening that even plugged-in reporters see the pending review by the independent police auditor as an anti-climatic denouement. Will any change come out of this tragedy? Shrug.

``As a community,'' Mayor Ron Gonzales crisply said to a Mercury News reporter Wednesday, ``it's time to move forward.'' It was solely the grand jury's call, he said.

In other words, the process has run its course. Everybody go home, there ain't nothing left to see.

Sure, it can be a relief that our elected officials aren't grandstanding at every political opportunity. We are sensible and not flashy. We loathe raw opportunistic photo ops; we are derisive of those who ``pander.''

Our officials pride themselves on being roll-up-your-sleeves public servants, holding meetings, being efficient and getting things done.

They are rightfully proud of San Jose's progressive policies and its reputation as one of the safest big cities. It doesn't suffer as much from the egregious abuses and hidebound interests as, say Oakland and San Francisco, which have yielded the Riders and Fajita-gate.

But this hold-it-at-arms-length, sensible and patient city-management- that-masquerades-for-leadership does nothing for those who have questions.

Could this happen to me? Do we deal with our mentally ill residents capably? Am I safe in my own home?

To be fair, Councilman Dave Cortese asked in September for a report on how the city provides information on major police investigations, and community members were able to raise concerns and questions during two city council meetings. And council members Cindy Chavez, Chuck Reed, Terry Gregory and Cortese have met with members of the community coalition formed in the wake of Tran's shooting. Cortese attended the July vigil for Tran.

Cortese, who's looked for a way that citizens could provide input and make meaningful change, said he feels it intensely.

``The mayor doesn't believe there would be anything broken with the system. Apparently he's already made up his mind about that. It creates a sharp and fundamental difference between his approach to theirs. The community wants to go look, and look really hard to make sure there's nothing broken or to fix. There's a sense that the system could be made better.''

Chavez said the public can still provide input to the independent police auditor, who is due to give recommendations Nov. 18.

``This was really a deeply tragic event,'' Chavez said. ``There remains an opportunity to do more. I don't think it's over.''

In that case, there's still time for leadership to appear.