Pasadena Community Police Oversight Commission Holds Its First Meeting

Pasadena Police Car (Photo -pasadenapoa.com)

The Community Police Oversight Commission (CPOC) held its first meeting via zoom on Tuesday evening, October 26. Members of the commission voted for a Chair, Vice Chair and determined various commission logistics such as meetings dates.

By Nicole Bernard

Pasadena residents and organizations have advocated for several decades to have more accountability in regards to officer involved shootings. Councilmember John J. Kennedy brought the item to council during a joint meeting with the Public Safety Commission in 2016, but certain councilmembers were critical of the oversight models that were presented which resulted in the item not receiving enough votes to be adopted.

Last summer after the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis and the Anthony McClain incident in Pasadena, hundreds of local residents worked together to mobilize the community to put pressure on city officials to create an oversight committee. Some of the mobilization activities included car caravans, protests, community meetings, and providing over 400 public comment statements during City Council and Public Safety meetings. Organizations such as Black Lives Matter Pasadena, NAACP Pasadena, POP!, NDLON, My Tribe Rise and several other community based organizations were at the forefront of advocating for an oversight model.

The Pasadena City Council voted unanimously to create the Community Police Oversight Commission in October 2020. The CPOC is made up of eleven commissioners with three members representing Pasadena based organizations. Raul Ibanez, who represents District 5, will serve as Chair and Juliana Serrano, who represents All Saints Church, will serve as Vice Chair. Brian Maxey of Modern Policing, LLC will serve as the Independent Police Auditor and will act as a best practice advisor to the commission.

The Community Police Oversight Commission meetings will be held on the first Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm. Meeting agendas will be available to the public the Monday before the meeting via the City of Pasadena’s website. Meetings will continue to be held virtually until the city deems in person meetings safe.