Moody, Clawson to Serve as Interim Police Chiefs

Deputy Chief Cheryl Moody and Commander Jason Clawson will rotate into the interim police chief position according to a statement by City Manager Cynthia Kurtz.

An email was sent to the department Monday afternoon announcing the decision.

“I want to congratulate Chief John Perez on his retirement this Wednesday after almost 37 years with the Pasadena Police Dept,” Kurtz said in a statement on Monday.  “He has been a leader, mentor and advocate not only internally but to numerous other departments and chiefs. He literally grew up in this city and even met his wife while working here and they now have two handsome teenage sons.”

Moody will become interim chief effect January 6 and serve in this role until Monday, May 2. Clawson will serve as interim chief until a new City Manager is appointed. 

Mayor Victor Gordo praised the decision on Monday. 

“As we search for our permanent Police Chief, I am confident that, in the interim, these veteran police professionals will do an excellent job leading our Police Department. Both Deputy Chief Moody and Commander Clawson know the department and our community well, and, under the guidance of City Manager Cynthia Kurtz, we all are in good and capable hands,” Gordo said.  

Kurtz has also named rotating appointments to the Human Resources Department and the Assistant City Manager position. 

Moody is the first woman in the police department’s more than 130-year history to serve as Deputy Chief.

She was hired as a police officer with Pasadena Police Department in 1992 after serving three years in the United States Air Force and working four years with the Long Beach Police Department. She possesses nearly three decades of policing experience, leading many high-performing teams over the years, including the Special Enforcement Section. She has served on Pasadena Police Department’s Executive Command Staff for five years and has held executive board positions with local and national chapters of The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). She currently serves as the president of the Los Angeles County Chapter of Women Leaders in Law Enforcement (WLLE).

More recently, she has overseen all of Pasadena Police Department’s daily operations, as well as the department’s special projects and department’s reorganization efforts.

Moody obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree from California State University Long Beach in Emergency Management, and her Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Woodbury University. 

Clawson is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and has 30 years of experience in municipal law enforcement operations, He has worked many ranks across various divisions to include Patrol Operations and Investigations. Clawson also led a Safe Streets Task Force while assigned as a Task Force Supervisor with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, focusing on the transnational gang problem. Clawson has coordinated jurisdictional Mutual Aid, Critical Incident Response Team operations, and focused on problem locations through community policing efforts in high crime zones.

He also served as the department’s press information officer where he directed and coordinated the activities within the Office of the Police Chief; audits and inspections; and the on-going review of policy and procedures. 

He served as the Project Director of a $2.5 million dollar grant from the Bureau of State and Community Corrections focusing on reintegration efforts of previously incarcerated community members returning to society. Clawson has participated in the development of goals, objectives, and key performance indicators for assigned divisional functions as well developing and administering divisional budgets, to include homeless and mental health initiatives, procurement of technology, and investigations. 

This is a breaking story Pasadena Now will update it as more information becomes available.