Chief Harris to Deliver 2025 Year-End Review Detailing Eaton Fire Response, Use-of-Force Increase, and Staffing Surge

[Updated]  Pasadena Police Chief Gene Harris is scheduled to present the Pasadena Police Department’s 2025 Year-End Review to the Community Police Oversight Commission Thursday, detailing a year that began with the Eaton Fire response and saw use-of-force incidents rise 56.25 percent while overall police incidents declined.

The presentation will cover priorities, achievements, structural and cultural changes, statistical data on policing activity, and demographic breakdowns of personnel, arrests, and force incidents. As a strictly advisory body, the Community Police Oversight Commission will be able to discuss the presentation and offer direction, but the City Council retains final authority over Pasadena Police Department policy and operations.

According to the presentation, the Pasadena Police Department faced significant challenges in 2025 beginning with the Eaton Fire on January 7, 2025. Fire operations went on for months, requiring sustained involvement from initial response through recovery and rebuilding activities. The department described the year as the third year of a “Contemporary Rebranding” ethos focused on community engagement, culture reshaping, and personnel development.

Use-of-force data is among the most notable year-over-year changes. Total use-of-force incidents rose to 25 in 2025 from 16 in 2024, a 56.25 percent increase. Traffic stops resulting in use of force rose to three from one, a 200 percent increase. The percentage of arrests resulting in use of force rose to 0.75 percent from 0.49 percent. Total police incidents declined 1.94 percent, from 103,095 to 101,095, and total arrests declined 1.56 percent, from 3,263 to 3,212. There was one officer-involved shooting in each year. A separate use-of-force demographics slide reports 27 total incidents for 2025, with 22 male and five female subjects; the breakdown by race lists 11 Hispanic, 12 Black, two White, and two Other.

The presentation reports a sworn staffing surge in 2025, with 14 sworn personnel hired, including six currently in the academy, one trainee temporarily reassigned, and four lateral hires from Alhambra, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Department of Insurance.

Seven sworn personnel left as laterals out in 2025, matching the 2024 figure. Across all classifications, the Pasadena Police Department received 3,616 applicants, including 1,273 for sworn positions and 2,343 for non-sworn positions, and hired 34 personnel.

Crime statistics show mixed results. Homicides held steady at one, while gang-related homicides rose to one from zero. Robbery rose slightly to 160 from 159. Rape rose to 36 from 35. Aggravated assault declined to 375 from 435. Simple assault declined to 513 from 621. Burglary declined to 573 from 737. Larceny declined to 2,387 from 2,461. Motor vehicle theft declined to 281 from 367. The Pasadena Police Department also documented 18 vehicle pursuits in 2025, of which nine were canceled — four by a supervisor and five by an officer — and 12 resulted in arrest.

Shooting data shows 14 Hispanic, six Black, and one White shooting victims in 2025, compared with six Hispanic, five Black, one White, one classified as Other, and 15 of unknown ethnicity, in 2024.

The presentation reports that three Black men were later identified as suspects in the lone 2025 homicide.

Other achievements highlighted in the presentation include a Mobile Observation Tower put into service, secured funding for two new helicopters, departmentwide computer upgrades, rebranded vehicle graphics, and the reinitiation of the “Pay to Stay” program for the Pasadena Police Department Jail.

The Community Relations unit raised more than $50,000 for cancer research through the “Pink Patch Project” and more than $20,000 for youth activities through the annual car show. The Pasadena Police Department staffed 30 major events and 392 events overall in 2025, filling 4,741 positions.

The presentation also documents an Asset Forfeiture Recap noting the Pasadena Police Department received $4.2 million in proceeds from asset forfeiture seizures and purchased SWAT tactical vests for $129,000, two 3D FARO scanners for traffic and forensics for $97,000, a SoundThinking gun shot detection system for $220,500, and three Ford F-150 trucks for patrol and K-9 use for $181,000.

In May 2025, the City Council approved the purchase of two new Bell 505 helicopters to be paid for out of the Asset Forfeiture Fund, with a down payment expected in early 2026.

Disciplinary data shows 11 dispositions in 2025 — seven minor and four major — compared with four in 2024.

The Community Police Oversight Commission is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, at the Jackie Robinson Community Center, 1020 North Fair Oaks Avenue, in Pasadena. For more information call (626) 744-4141 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas/.