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[Updated] A tense situation developed outside Pasadena Police Department headquarters Friday evening during a demonstration when police moved into a crowd of over 100 to detain a man who had confronted protest organizer Jasmine Abdullah Richards.
The man was disrupting the demonstration, according to both police and witnesses. He reportedly grabbed signs out of protesters’ hands and threw over a table intentionally.
Police said they determined the man might experiencing a mental health episode. A small group of five officers went into the crowd to detain the man “for his own safety.”
The man resisted the officers. Police said the man managed to briefly take possession of a Taser gun but did not discharge it. The Taser was retrieved by police.
The prolonged arrest activity drew the crowd around an increasing number of police sent to manage the crowd.
Many members of the crowd yelled at police to “deescalate” or to let the man alone.
The man was ultimately detained. He was charged with resisting and transported for a psychiatric examination.
Officers withdrew and the demonstration continued. There were no other arrests or injuries.
Reactions to the incident varied.
Former city council candidate Ryan Bell wrote on Pasadena Now’s Facebook page “It was a perfect example of why we need to defund the police and reallocate resources to services that care for people rather than assault them.”
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