Activists Disappointed After Pasadena Police Reform Measure Falters

Activists who have long been calling for changes within the Pasadena Police Department are expressing disappointment following the City Council’s vote on Monday to reject a ballot initiative that called for an independent auditor and a civilian police oversight commission with subpoena power.

The City Council voted 6-2 against the proposed initiative, which would have involved altering the city charter to allow for the commission to be able to subpoena police records. Councilmembers Victor Gordo and Tyron Hampton, who also serves as vice mayor, were the only votes in support.

A second proposal authored by Mayor Terry Tornek and Councilmember John Kennedy would create a civilian oversight commission without subpoena power and an auditor under the authority of the city manager’s office. That proposal was tabled for possible future discussion.

Florence Annang, co-chair of Pasadenans Organizing for Progress (POP!), an executive member of NAACP Pasadena and a member of the Coalition for Increased Civilian Oversight of Pasadena Police (CICOPP), said she was “very disappointed” in the outcome of Monday’s council meeting.

“The ones who lost last night were the community,” she said.

Local activists have been united in their call for an oversight commission and auditor with the power to subpoena police records as part of their oversight.

“There’s no ambiguity in our ask,” she said. “The people spoke… do their voices matter?”

With no other way to get the proposal on the November ballot without the blessing of the City Council, the issue now appears to be in the hands of the council members, Annang said.

“The chess game is played,” she said. “It’s for them to either turn something around or leave it alone,” she said. “Either way, the community is going to stay focused, because there’s lives at stake.”

While the proposal for an oversight commission and auditor without subpoena power remains on the table for future discussion by the council, Annang said it has “no teeth.”

“When an outside organization has an ability to know what they do, see what they see, that’s when you can effect change,” she said.

But at the same time, “making subpoena power the Holy Grail is wrong,” Annang added. A good relationship between the police and the public requires just that: A relationship.

“The main goal in all of this is to have a real relationship of trust,” she said.

The conversation doesn’t have to be an argument, Annang added.

“Instead of building a wall where we cannot see each other, let’s tear it down and build something else together,” she said. “Community and police — together, we’re stronger.”

“We have a great police chief. And we have great relationships,” Annang said. But one day, new leadership will come in.”

“You put a structure in so that we can move forward, no matter who’s the leader,” she said.

The next opportunity for a possible ballot initiative comes with the next election in 2022, Annang said.

“In the midst of that, the worst-case scenario is another critical incident,” she said.

But after the council’s vote Monday, more timely reform will depend on the City Council, Annang said. “The ball is in their court.”

Longtime activist Kris Ockershauser of the ACLU SoCal Pasadena/Foothills Chapter said the setback would not stop her and others from seeking meaningful reform.

“Without the possibility now of allowing the citizens of Pasadena to decide whether or not to grant subpoena power to an Independent Police Auditor working with a community oversight committee and reporting to the elected council until 2022, CICOPP will need to take the longer road,” she said.

“CICOPP and the Community Bill of Rights Coalition remain committed, however, to securing subpoena power through the ballot as essential to accessing critical documents and testimony about police misconduct and over-policing of Pasadena’s communities of color, while being unable to solve real crime in neighborhoods,” Ockershauser said. “We remain committed to much fuller transparency and accountability to the public than the council is willing to give.”

“We’ll see what the council has to offer on this longer path,” she said.

“It’s important to keep in mind that our council is heavily influenced by the power and money of the Pasadena Police Officers Association,” said Ockershauser.

CICOPP member Juliana Serrano said after years advocating for independent police oversight, Monday’s City Council decision was something of a blow.

“So I think that we must continue to work as a community with our elected officials to determine how to best move forward, now that the charter amendment is not going to be possible.”

But the proposal from Tornek and Kennedy simply doesn’t create sufficient separation between the oversight commission and police auditor and city officials, Serrano said.

“We don’t want that (auditor) or we don’t want that commission reporting directly to the city manager, and we’ve stood by that demand all these years and have continued to stand by that,” she said.

“It does not make sense to have both the chief of police reporting into the city manager and the oversight mechanism,” she added. “It doesn’t achieve that complete independence that is really desired. “

Despite the charter amendment option faltering, Serrano said it’s important to continue working to improve the relationship between the public and police.

“I value progress over perfection,” she said. “I would love to see movement and growth in the way this municipal government approaches public safety work. And so, personally, I’m going to be supportive of whatever gets us closer to that, but there are major concerns and there are major flaws in the proposal that is on the table by the mayor and Kennedy.”

Serrano said she hoped the momentum of the movement for police reform would continue to inspire change.

“We are in a climate where communities across the nation are creating change within their police departments and their municipal governments. And there is an opportunity for us to do the same. Let us do it, let us get there. I believe that we can. I believe that we should,” she said.

“We cannot lose the momentum that has been garnered for weeks and months,” she said. “And it is really important that we work together in the coming days and weeks to arrive at the best possible model for our community.”