Class Teaches Inner Workings of Pasadena Police Department

Pasadenans will get a chance to experience what it’s like to be law enforcement officers with the Pasadena Police Department’s 40th Citizen Police Academy.

The course is free of charge and open to the public. It is set to begin on Thursday, January 30, from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Classes will be held on Thursday nights and will last for 12 weeks.

Participants will be able to engage in presentations and discussions on Pasadena Police operations and the principles of community policing.

Lt. Ed Calatayud of the Pasadena Police Department said the objective of the academy is to expose citizens to law enforcement’s role in the community.

“What [the academy] does is it provides an opportunity to demonstrate what police work is all about, what we do, how we address not only issues to the patrol but the techniques, the urgencies people have, what it takes to take the case from its inception through completion and filing,” he said.

Classes will be held in a friendly and informal classroom environment. The participants will also experience practice shooting at the range, Calatayud said.

“The citizen gets to experience a live shoot, or simulator and also gets lectures on the use of some of the tactics,” he said.

He added that the participants may also ask questions about their rights, including when is the time that an officer is allowed to stop a person and ask for his/her identification.

Calatayud noted that the course is being held twice a year. Those who want to volunteer for the Police Department may do so after they complete the course.

Hopefully, the academy will bring down the “barrier” between the police and local citizens, the lieutenant said.

“Most people are going on the inside to see that ‘hey, it’s really not a secret society.’ Everything we do is either mandated or required by procedure,” he said.

Pasadena Police Department is located at 207 N. Garfield Ave. For more information, call (626) 744-7650 or visit http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/police.