GUEST OPINION
Pasadena City Council swearing in ceremony, May 4, 2015 (Photo – cityofpasadena.net)
To all members of the Pasadena City Council:
By Petrea Burchard Sandel
The Pasadena City Council has failed miserably when it comes to oversight of the Pasadena Police Department.
Pasadena has a national reputation for police brutality against African Americans. It is our city’s great shame.
Do you not hear what the people are saying?
Is the will of the police union more important to you than the will of the people?
Is it lost on you that none of the City Council members who support the current model are African American?
I am a white citizen. It is not lost on me.
My black and brown neighbors are often followed, harassed, and terrorized by members of our City’s police force. Pasadena is doing a terrible job, and we are known for it around the country.
I’m excited that so far Chief Perez seems responsive to Pasadena’s citizens of color. He and his force have handled the Black Lives Matter protests well, supporting the people’s right to peaceful protest. This is a great step forward. Under Chief Sanchez my fellow citizens were beaten and even murdered by police officers—officers who did not serve time and were never even tried for their crimes or judged by a jury of their peers.
The current City Council has failed, over and over again, to properly oversee the Pasadena Police Department. If Chief Perez is the honest and capable man I think he is, he will welcome an impartial citizen’s oversight committee.
Pasadena is mentioned alongside Ferguson and Minneapolis as a place where African Americans are not safe. Our city can and must do better.
Respectfully,
Petrea Burchard Sandel
Craftsman Heights
Petrea Burchard Sandel is a resident of Pasadena.
I would like to offer one friendly note of clarification related to your letter, Petrea. You wrote that the Pasadena City Council had failed at its oversight of the Pasadena Police Department. The council does not oversee departments, and only three employees report directly to the council (city manager, city attorney/prosecutor, city clerk). Legally, oversight of departments is not part of the council’s role. That is the role of the city manager. For the council to have oversight of any or all departments, this would take an amendment to Section 411(B) of the Pasadena City Charter, which would require a ballot proposition and a vote of the people.
Thank you, Ann. In the letter I sent directly to individual council members, I quoted the Pasadena Star-News. This quote wasn’t included in my letter posted on ColoradoBlvd.net (understandably, but still, a bit of context is missing).
“Save for Vice Mayor Tyron Hampton and Councilman John Kennedy, the only two African American men on the council, the rest of the elected body has consistently voiced support for the city’s current model in which members of the council oversee the Pasadena Police Department.”
Pasadena Star-News, 6/11/20
So is the PSN in error?
Petrea Burchard Wow. Reporters and editors aren’t doing their homework! That’s really disappointing. There is a Public Safety Committee made up of Hampton, Kennedy, Madison and Tornek. The committee mostly reviews agenda reports related to public safety issues (law enforcement, fire, etc.) and makes recommendations when the agenda reports come to council. Occasionally they discuss certain issues that are not at the time agendized at the council level, but take no action.
Petrea Burchard Sandel,
You accuse the police of doing horrible things without specificity, yet are silent to the trouble and danger that they (the police) face every hour of every day.
I grew up in Pasadena (4th generation) and lived in Orange Heights for 12 years. There was never one weekend that the helicopters were not in the sky over Washington Bl trying to keep the peace, be it from gang activity, criminal pursuit or domestic violence. The NW zone has a lot of problems, but the police do not start fights, even though they sometimes are required to end one.
Your arguments are specious and lack the merit to make changes you wish to impose.
Robert Crook, there are many examples. If you don’t know about them, then that tells far more about your positioning in this city and from where/whom you get your information. Here is an example: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-pasadena-police-violence-20171223-story.html%3f_amp=true
There are countless others and far more lethal than this one, including the deaths of Kendrec McDade, Reginald Thomas, and Leroy Barnes Noriega.
Mr. Crook, your questions are reasonable and I’m glad you asked.
In 2014, during a monologue on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart listed Pasadena along with Ferguson MO as a city known for police violence against African Americans. I thought he must be talking about a different Pasadena. I had not heard about the police shooting of Kendrec McDade in the local news when it happened in 2012.
Reginald Thomas died in Pasadena police custody from “excessive force.” He was kicked in the head and beaten with a baton by police in 2016.
Leroy Barnes was shot by police during a traffic stop in 2009.
Chris Ballew was beaten by Pasadena police officers who crossed into Altadena to do so in an incident caught on video in 2017. Mr. Ballew survived. He suffered a broken leg and multiple cranial contusions.
These are all things you can read about online. Personal stories from friends about being harassed or bullied, or about not wanting to come to Pasadena because they don’t feel safe here, are only hearsay. But I hear a lot of them.
John Perez was named Chief of Police in 2018. He has done a good job and I’m sure he will continue to do so. We have a lot of terrific cops in Pasadena, way more good ones than bad ones. I’m proud of our city. Independent oversight is no threat to a good police force.
Ms. Sandel, thank you for your follow up. It provides context.
I remember Reginald Thomas’ death. He lived roughly six blocks from where I live. It was a sad situation. As I recall the facts, either he or his family members had called 911. When he was found by PPD, he wielded a large knife, and he would not drop it when directed by officers to do so. He was tased. Tasers are generally nonlethal, but they are not safe.
As I also recall, the City did spend money to have an independent investigation performed by persons who are not affiliated with the City. To my knowledge, there was no finding of wrongdoing by police officers, and no finding of bias by the officers involved.
I realize that on an individual level, people may have their own negative experience with law enforcement. Some of the stories are egregious, and it is hard, if not impossible, for persons with such experience to objectively look at incidents of police brutality. They occur, and abuses will continue to occasionally occur when someone is given authority over another.
I do not know if statistics are kept on Pasadena, but on a national level, statistics relating to police killings do not prove that the killings are motivated by bias. More white than black people die at the hands of law enforcement. It is true that nationally there is a higher percentage of black versus white deaths (according to mappingpoliceviolence.org, 24% of those killed were black, despite being only 13% of the population). However, the discrepancy between the percentages is not necessarily evidence of police bias.
But more to your point about Pasadena, when there is a serious injury or death at the hands of law enforcement, I agree that there should be an independent investigation. From my understanding, Pasadena does seek such investigations.
Petrea Burchard Sandel — When you write — “Pasadena has a national reputation for police brutality against African Americans. It is our city’s great shame.” — please be specific.
What instances of brutality are you referring? I agree that a police department, wherever it is located, should have oversight. I have personally inquired about Pasadena police conduct to persons who work inside the city. From what I have been told, Pasadena PD does very well at being responsive to complaints.
In my 25 years as a resident here, I am unaware of any instances of “fellow citizens [being] beaten and even murdered by police officers.”