Residents Air Frustrations About Altadena Sheriffs at Townhall Meeting

At a town-hall meeting Thursday night, Altadena and Northwest Pasadena residents expressed frustrations with the Altadena Sheriff's Department, ranging from racial profiling to police harassment to accusations of use of force against department deputies.

The meeting was called for people to meet local Town Council members and Altadena Sheriff's Capt. Steve McLean, who took over the department earlier this year.  The main focus of the meeting, however, was on the relationship with community and the police.

Some of the discussion centered around two recent with the department, one of which led to a young man who was being arrested having his shoulder burned when he was pressed against a deputy's car that had been heated up in the sun.  There was also discussion of a case where a deputy recently during an arrest, though nobody was hit.

But residents also discussed the larger historical issues with the department, with many saying that black youth have been unfairly targeted by police for decades.

"Throughout the years there has been an adversarial relationship between the community and the police," said Brent Musson, an Altadena resident since 1972. "When the sheriff's is around, the police are around, I am supposed to feel more protected, not less."

Another speaker, Jason Fletcher, said he has been harassed by the police for years.  He acknowledged that he has a criminal past, but said that he had changed his life.  The problem, he said, is that one officer in the department is insistent he is still causing trouble, and warns other officers about him.

"I get stopped by officers and they know who I am and I've never even met them," Fletcher said in an interview after the meeting.

He said he was arrested several months ago for obstruction of justice, but had the complaint thrown out by a judge after Altadena officers did not show up to several hearings to present the case against him.

It was a common complaint in the audience, as several people said they believed deputies arrest people without evidence and then don't follow through on the cases, or harass people without writing them a ticket or making an arrest.

People also said they felt as if filing complaints against police goes nowhere, as officers are never disciplined or dismissed from their jobs.

McLean promised several people he would follow up with them on their issues.  He seemed to acknowledge at points that several of their complaints might be valid.

After several people referenced being taken up into remote foothill areas and being beaten by Altadena officers decades ago, McLean said he has heard of the problem, and knows that in modern police departments, it is not entirely gone.

"Do abuses like that still exist?  I'm not going to say they don't," McLean said. "I do believe that law enforcement has come a long way since then."

He said he wants to have a better relationship with the community than past leaders of the department.

"My hope is that in 6 months to a year from now we'll look back at tonight and see it as the beginning of what changed our relationship," McLean said. 

Some at the meeting were skeptical though.

"It sounds like déjà vu," said Altadena resident Gary Moody. "I've been to meetings and I've heard these words 10, 20 times before."

The audience also raised the issue of whether the department has a list of people who are labeled as gang members or businesses that have been listed as gang-affiliated.  Several people spoke about , a business that they believe police are wrongfully targeting.

Perhaps the angriest crowd reaction of the night came when McLean refused to discuss whether such a list exists or not, and whether the police target certain people or businesses as gang-affiliated.

"As it relates to gang intelligence, I'm not going to discuss that," McLean said to a series of shouts and groans from the audience.

McLean did discuss his philosophy of policing and said he believes good relations with the community are a vital part of reducing crime.  He said he has instructed deputies to engage people in conversation and have good interactions with the community.

He also discussed his own past having trouble with police officers as a youth, and said he understands that officers can treat young people unfairly.

Not everything discussed at the meeting was contentious.  Several people thanked McLean for working on gang violence and burglary issues.

Several others said they wanted a stronger police presence in their neighborhood, complaining about neighbors who drive dangerously fast or are playing loud music and partying at all hours of the day and night.