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“I need your help” to stop local gang violence, Pasadena Police Chief told a gathering of over 200 community members, city staff, Councilmembers and Mayor Tornek at a three-district community meeting Wednesday night at Villa-Parke Community Center.
Sanchez recapped details of the recent violence while calling on neighbors to report suspicious activities and parents to help their children engage in meaningful local programs to steer them away from gangs.
“This (violence) has got to stop,” said Sanchez.
“There is nothing more important to a community than public safety,” Councilmember Gordo said, in opening the discussion. “It affects every aspect of our city. It potentially affects our health and safety, it affects our image, it affects our property values, everything about our city is affected when we have these kinds of issues.”
Councilmember Kennedy agreed. “Policymakers can make a difference, but this work cannot be done by leadership alone. We need the assistance of clergy and all of Pasadena. One Pasadena,” he said.
Gordo also spoke on the importance of fully staffing the city’s police department to reduce gang violence. Gordo said that a city the size of Pasadena should have at least 260 officers, yet in 2015 the city had only 239.
Mayor Terry Tornek also addressed the hiring more officers, adding that the subjects of his upcoming State of the City address will be “budgets and money.”
“This is a citywide problem, not just a Northwest Pasadena issue,” he added. “We spend 53% of our budget on public safety.”
There have been five shootings with six victims in Northwest Pasadena from December 18 to December 29, Chief Sanchez reported. Sanchez provided his department’s perspective, and some previously publicly-unknown details, about each incident.
On the evening of December 18, Sanchez began, a young man was shot at a party in the 600 block of North Mentor Avenue, eventually dying of gunshot wounds. The following evening, a fight broke out among a group of mourners for the victim, and a young woman was shot by crossfire. The mourners encircled her and did not allow paramedics to treat her, Sanchez said, until more police arrived and removed the young woman from the scene.
According to Sanchez the victim refused to cooperate with police, saying, “I will not tell you anything.”
Next, Sanchez said, two juveniles were shot in an alley on December 26. The pair were not seriously wounded. They also refused to identify their attackers. On December 27, a 53-year-old male was shot on Washington Boulevard. That shooting is still under investigation.
Finally, on December 29, two young men were shot at in their car while in the drive-thru lane at a fast food restaurant. One was hit by gunfire. Two persons have been arrested in that case and charges filed, said Sanchez. The second victim in the car, who escaped without injury, was arrested two days later in an armed robbery case, Sanchez said.
“There are too many guns in our community,” said Chief Sanchez, his voice rising. “If you are a gun owner, lock the damn thing up!” [More below video]
Sanchez also reported that since the shootings began, police have served six search warrants and seized 14 firearms.
“It’s all about intervention and prevention,” he emphasized.
Pasadena Police Commander John Perez also reported that there have been four arrests in two of the recent shootings, and that so far, in all of the incidents, “everyone knew each other.” He also said that in each case, witnesses and victims have been uncooperative, and all had criminal backgrounds.
“Someone knows something out there,” he said.
Overall there have been 30 arrests in the last month, according to Perez, and thirteen of them have been gang-related.
“I expect more arrests,” he said.
Responding to a question from the audience, Chief Sanchez addressed possibility of gang injunctions throughout in the community as a way curtail gang activity. The last injunction terminated three years ago.
“We are looking into those, but I want to make sure that there are mechanisms for someone to get out, such as a parole re-entry program, which provides resources for those leaving the gang life,” he said, adding that the police department will be looking at gang injunctions “sometime this year.”
Former Pasadena NAACP President Joe Brown added that gang injunctions “don’t work” and that the police should work on re-entry programs. Community activist Porifio Fausto told the gathering more emphasis should be given to providing jobs, particularly at the Rose Bowl, perhaps funded through a ticket surcharge.
Sanchez admitted that “gangs offer things I can’t,” when asked about preventing gangs from forming.
“Young people want acceptance. We need to get them resources and get them integrated in to their communities.” He spoke directly to parents in the audience then, asking, “Do you know if your kids are being courted by gangs?”
Sanchez also reminded the audience that the city does have a Gang Prevention Task Force and that the city plans for higher police staffing at local recreation centers as the spring and summer sports seasons begin. There will also be an increase in the number of park safety officers.
In addition, there are currently an increased number of police patrols in the area around Orange Grove, where many shootings have occurred. The number of patrols and police working with the Pasadena Unified School District will also be increased, said Sanchez, as well as city bike patrols.
Councilmember Gordo was asked by one resident about the removal of potential trouble makers from neighborhoods before incidents happen. He said, “This is a problem we need to look at,” saying that he would engage the Council as well as Code enforcement to address the issue and “dislodge” them.
It was also reported, ironically, that over the past few months, gang activity is actually down, but that property crimes are up.
“Lock your vehicles,” the Chief emphasized.
“We all need to come together,” said local resident Tim Rhambo. “ I see community vigils that are either all Hispanic or all black or all white. No more separate vigils. People are coming to the streets with penitentiary attitudes.”
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