Pasadena Police Oversight Commission to Hold Community Forum on Pretext Stops Thursday

The Pasadena Community Police Oversight Commission will conduct a special meeting Thursday that kicks off with a community forum on police pretext stops.

The Commission will first introduce the concept of pretextual stops and explain their full research and assessment methodology. But the key focus of the 6 p.m. evening will be on hearing from community members.

“Hearing from our community members about their different experiences with pretextual stops and the impact they have is a critical piece of our Commission’s ability to fully understand and make recommendations on the continued use of pretextual stops in our community,” says Esprit Jones, Chair of the Community Police Oversight Commission.

California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board defines a pretext stop as “when an officer stops a person ostensibly for a traffic violation or minor infraction but with the intention of using the stop to investigate based on an officer’s hunch that by itself would not amount to reasonable suspicion or probable cause.”

The pretextual stops topic was brought to the Oversight Commission when the Office of the Inspector General Group completed its independent review of the August 15, 2020 killing of Anthony McClain, which occurred during a traffic stop.

The OIR Group recommended that the Commission “should convene community conversations to formally discuss and consider the pros and cons of Pasadena Police Department’s use of pretext stops, especially with regard to minor equipment violations.”

Today’s meeting will take place at the Creveling Lounge in the Community Center Building at Pasadena Community College, located at 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Parking for the meeting will be available in Lot 1, on Hill Ave between Colorado Blvd and Green St.

For those unable to attend in person, thoughts and experiences can be emailed to CPOC@cityofpasadena.net.

A second public forum on pretext stops will be held on Thursday, March 14, at 6 p.m. at the Robinson Park Recreation Center, located at 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

For more information or to request a disability-related accommodation, call (626) 744-4141 or visit the Commission’s website by clicking here.