PASADENA
- Community and civic leaders expressed concern that recent allegations made
against Pasadena police officers might erode trust in the department and Chief
Phillip Sanchez.
Leaders
from City Hall to Northwest Pasadena urged the department to make quick work of
probes into misconduct by detectives - one of whom is assigned to the Kendrec
McDade shooting even though he allegedly threatened to kill a suspect.
Misconduct complaints filed by the Pasadena-branch NAACP and lawyer Michael Kraut - who is widely known for prosecuting corrupt cops from the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division - prompted two investigations in recent weeks.
"This
is the type of stuff the police chief wants to get
in front of and not lag behind," District 7 City Councilman
Terry Tornek said. "The last thing we need in this town is a loss of
confidence in the Police Department."
Tornek
said he believes the Police Department will conduct fair and thorough probes of
its officers.
Although
Pasadena police detectives have been accused of hiding evidence in a criminal
trial and threatening to kill suspects, Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and city
council members Jacque Robinson and Steve Madison did not return phone calls
seeking comment.
Detective
Keith Gomez allegedly threatened to kill a suspect in a 2007 murder
investigation. The suspect, Jamaul Harvey, was ultimately acquitted of murder.
In a signed declaration, an alternate
juror who heard Gomez testify said she was convinced the detective
manufactured evidence against Harvey.
The Los
Angeles County Sheriff's Department Internal Affairs Bureau has taken over an
investigation of Gomez's former partner Officer Kevin Okamoto, a probe started
by the Pasadena Police Department in early April.
On
Wednesday, Okamoto was ordered by a judge to hand over 45 audio recordings and
notes from interviews that he failed to provide to attorneys in the criminal battery
trial of Edward Damas.
"The police chief has informed me that he has asked for an outside investigation. I am confident (it) will be thorough and complete," District 5 City Councilman Victor Gordo said.
The jury
in Damas' first trial never heard the evidence, much of it exculpatory, and
rendered a split verdict. Damas awaits retrial.
Pasadena-branch
NAACP President Joe Brown said the Police Department's lack of transparency
following the shooting death of McDade has left him with concerns about any
internal probe. "The Police Department stonewalled ... the Pasadena-branch NAACP when we requested documents related to the McDade matter," Brown said. "Our community needs to have reassurances that they will be treated fairly in this process."
Brown
called on Sanchez to order an outside investigation of the department and
Gomez. The department should welcome such an investigation, Brown added.
"If
they have nothing to hide, than let's have an independent investigation,"
he said.
The Los
Angeles County Office of Independent Review could pull off an investigation
into the Police Department, Brown said. The agency is already investigating the
McDade shooting, and in the past has probed misconduct by the Sheriff's
Department.
Pasadena
City Manager Michael Beck said he doesn't oppose contracting with the OIR, but
wouldn't do so until the internal probe of Gomez is completed and the county
investigation of Okamoto concludes.
"I
still have a tremendous amount of confidence in the individuals who lead those
investigations," Beck said. "I am talking about Chief, deputy chief
and Lt. Tracey Ibarra who heads up investigations."
Ibarra is
Gomez's supervisor and a former supervisor of Okamoto.
Despite
the closeness of Ibarra to both Gomez and Okamoto, city leaders said they are
comfortable with an internal probe and don't see the situation as akin to the
fox guarding the hen house.
"It
would be premature to say an outside investigation is necessary," said
District 2 City Councilwoman Margaret McAustin.
District
3 City Councilman Chris Holden, a candidate for state Assembly, called the
Okamoto allegations "troubling" but not necessarily indicative of a
pattern of behavior by those in the Police Department.
"Is
there a pattern that would then cause us to go beyond what the chief has
prescribed for us to follow as a strategy? I don't know," Holden said.
"If there is a pattern emerging from this I wouldn't be against an outside
review."