City Council Set to Consider Next Steps in Police Oversight Plan

Pasadena’s recently approved Community Police Oversight Commission takes another step toward becoming a reality Monday when the City Council considers an ordinance that would clear the way by amending various provisions of the Municipal Code.

The ordinance that will get a first reading Monday also would create an independent police auditor, or IPA, who will be hired by the city attorney and work in conjunction with the 11-member civilian oversight panel.

In addition, some specifics about the commission’s makeup will be solidified if the ordinance is approved – including, prominently, a goal that at least 50 percent of the appointees will be women.

But other details about the appointment process – including how members will be selected and what transparencies will be built into their vetting — will still need to be hashed out in the future. Monday will not bring the matter across the finish line.

“The ordinance provides for the City Council to establish the process for appointment to the commission by resolution at a future date,’’ according to a report from City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris.

Back on Aug. 24, the council unanimously approved creating the commission/auditor oversight model amid calls both locally and nationally for increased police scrutiny and accountability.

Past efforts for civilian oversight in Pasadena had failed, but this time the issue gained traction following the police-involved deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., and then the Aug. 15 shooting death of Anthony McClain by Pasadena police.

According to Bagneris’ report, “the commission would have one member appointed from each Council district, one at-large member and three members from the non-profit community.’’

While those aspects were known back on Aug. 24, the ordinance on the table Monday provides a few new details.

Besides the goal of at least 50 percent representation by women on the committee, “practicing attorneys would not be able to serve … if they or their firm/entity have pending criminal or civil cases involving Pasadena police officers,’’ according to Bagneris’ report.

“We also note, though not proposed in the ordinance, that some other cities’ police review boards have commissioner requirements that include (a) requiring background checks of proposed commissioners; (b) prohibiting current or former law enforcement officers from serving; (c) conversely, encouraging current or former law enforcement officers to apply,’’ the report adds.

The appointees from each of the city’s seven council districts would have to reside in that district, and the at-large member would have to be a city resident. Presumably, the at-large appointee would be made by the mayor – a mayoral appointment was discussed on Aug. 24 – but that is not explicitly stated in the ordinance.

In addition, commissioners’ terms would be for three years, and staggered.

“The initial members shall be appointed to terms of one, two, and three years, respectively,’’ the proposed ordinance says. “Four members shall be appointed to serve a three-year term; four members shall be appointed to a two-year term; and the remaining members shall be appointed to a one-year term. Thereafter, all members shall serve a term of three years.

“Members shall serve no more than two consecutive terms,’’ the ordinance goes on to say. “A term of less than one year shall not be considered a full term. Terms expire on June 30th of the applicable years. A member shall continue in office for the term for which he/she was appointed or until his/her successor is appointed. No member who has served two consecutive terms shall be eligible for reappointment to the commission prior to the passage of a two-year interval.’’

The proposed ordinance can be read in full here.

Meanwhile, the independent auditor, according to Bagneris’ report, would have a range of responsibilities, including the power to review use of force and bias complaints.

The reports says: “(The auditor) would (a) review all categorical uses of force by Police Department personnel to assess whether the investigation into the use of force was complete, thorough, objective, and fair; (b) review investigations of personnel complaints of bias-based policing; and (c) issue public reports and give public presentations to the commission regarding Police Department operations, to the extent allowed by law.’’

However, the auditor “may not play a role in personnel matters … due to (City) Charter limitations that establish Pasadena’s Council-Manager form of government. Finally, the ordinance allows for the commission and the independent police auditor to have certain subpoena authority to carry out their functions, where necessary,’’ the report adds.

Other business

Other items of note on Monday’s council agenda include:

• A recommendation by the council’s Public Safety Committee to spend as much as $80,000 on three new mobile Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) for the Police Department. The ALPRs would be purchased from Vigilant Solutions Inc., a Livermore-based company.

According to City Manager Steve Mermell, the purchases would be “really just to refresh our existing fleet of automatic license plate readers.”

The PPD has been using Vigilant systems since 2017 after the department started transitioning from another ALPR contractor whose systems became outdated. Five of the former contractor’s ALPRs have been replaced since then, and the department is looking to replace 11 remaining devices within the next three to four years.

During last week’s Public Safety Committee meeting, several residents, in public comments, expressed worries about ALPRs being misused to violate people’s civil rights through “abusive tracking” and “discriminatory targeting.” Several commenters also worried that data could be transmitted to ICE officials to trace undocumented immigrants.

But PPD Commander Jason Clawson told the Safety Committee that the ALPRs capture “(license) numbers only, not biometric data,” and that the data is not shared with ICE. Clawson also said the information gathered is retrieved only in connection with open crime cases or, sometimes, missing persons. He said the data is stored for two years and then discarded.

• A recommendation by the Public Safety Committee to spend $160,210 to contract with Custom Design Iron Works Inc. of Chatsworth for temporary mock-up panels for the Colorado Street Bridge Suicide Mitigation Project.

The full-scale mock-ups would be installed to provide better visualization of three barrier design options under consideration, before a final concept is chosen for the historic bridge. They would remain in place for two to three weeks to allow time for the public to provide input. 

Monday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., and will be conducted by teleconference. Live streaming is available at www.pasadenamedia.org and at www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas.