Pasadena’s Independent Police Auditor Details His Role, Outlook, and Work Ahead of Major November Report

Pasadena’s Independent Police Auditor Richard Rosenthal, who is working with the City’s Community Police Oversight Commission (CPOC), can’t hire or fire police officers or write police policy. But his work can have — and has had — dramatic effect on more than one large police department across the country.

As the City’s Independent Police Auditor, Rosenthal explained, he has access to all the records of the Pasadena Police Department. 

“So I have the ability to audit them,” he told an ad hoc meeting of the CPOC Wednesday evening at Jackie Robinson Park. “That includes complaint investigations and use of force investigations. It includes really any topic of interest, say body-worn camera compliance or policy issues. I have the ability to evaluate and audit anything that the police department does, and make recommendations for policy.” 

Rosenthal knows of what he speaks. 

In the late ‘90s, he prosecuted and turned in the officer who disclosed that officers in the Rampart Division of the LAPD “were out there beating and framing individuals, and it resulted in costing the City of Los Angeles $1 billion, $500 million in liability paid out to gang members who had been framed by the LAPD, and then $500 million for the consent decree.” 

The Federal District Court , the Department of Justice, and the LAPD formally entered the Consent Decree into law on June 15, 2001.

“So,” said Rosenthal, “after costing them a billion dollars, I left. I was kind of ridden out on a rail.”

But the case inspired him to leave the District Attorney’s office and become an auditor. 

“Our job was to determine if a police officer committed a crime, and if so, prosecute them, and if not, move on,” said Rosenthal. “It was very frustrating to me. So, I got into oversight because I wanted to have an impact on policy, training. Frankly, I wanted to reduce the risk of deadly shootings and uses of force, and it was much beyond what I could do as a prosecutor.” 

Rosenthal was hired by Pasadena in 2021. He has been reading and digesting years of complaint investigations, as well as procedures and policies, as he prepares to complete his first report to the City Council in November. 

“I get access to every one of those complaint investigations and I have the opportunity to review them, audit them, and evaluate how they’ve handled them.” 

Rosenthal revealed that one of the things that he had noticed while looking at cases is that the Pasadena Police Department’s method of communicating with the complainants was “really deficient.”

“They were really just using these template letters that said nothing,” Rosenthal said, adding that he has already shared with the department  “some tools that they can use to better communicate.” 

“You need to provide a reasonable explanation that a reasonable person looking at it will understand and will take back with them. But if all you’re doing is saying, ‘Hey, we got your complaint. We investigated it, and it’s not sustained. Thank you so much. We hope you have a fine day,’ I refer to that as the ‘F–You letter.’ That’s how I felt.” 

According to Rosenthal, his next report will be an evaluation of about a year’s worth of professional standards investigations, saying that he will “hopefully be able to identify any patterns or any issues or concerns related to how the department handled it.”

“This will all be public in the court, so no specific names, but you’ll know how well the department is doing in that area by the time I complete that work.” 

Rosenthal is also working to create a Pretext Stop methodology for initial traffic stops,  and then implement and begin the process of reviewing pretext stops. 

He also said he recently finished creating a draft protocol for a Community Police Mediation program. 

“These are the things I’m looking to do in the next three months,” he said. 

Asked about his ability to implement actual recommendations, Rosenthal said,  “I’m actually an independent contractor, so my contract is managed through the City Attorney’s office, but I don’t report to anybody. I support the CPOC (Community Police Oversight Commission) and I act within the ordinance to do what I think is best. The ordinance does limit some of the things I can do. For example, I cannot make a recommendation to the department that will result in discipline against an individual officer. So I cannot go to the department.”

“But I have access to the disciplinary hearings and use of force review board,” he continued. 

“I am however allowed after they’ve made their decision, to publicly report on the quality of their decision. I can then say, ‘The department gave the officer (a) five-day suspension. I believe the officer lied and used excess force and should have been terminated.’ So I can do that, but I cannot actually have an impact on the department’s decision.”

Rosenthal seems well aware of both the limitations of his position and its ultimate power.

“I have a mantra,” he explained, “You are going to be criticized no matter what you do, so you might as well be criticized for doing the right thing.”