Altadena Sheriff's Captain Will Address Community-Police Relations at Town Hall Meeting

The Altadena Sheriff's Station will hold a town hall meeting next week--the second in four months--to address community concerns over relations with the police.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on March 24 at and will be open to all members of the public.

Since a , the Sheriff's Station's ranking officer, Capt. Steve McLean, has convened an ad hoc committee to discuss recommendations for improving community relations with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

At that meeting, some residents complained about racial profiling, officers' perceived lack of courtesy and .

At next week's meeting the work of the committee will be discussed.  The members of that committee were:

• Gary Moody, a community activist and attendee of the first meeting
• Dr. Sandra Thomas, a Town Council member and director of the Quality Life Center
• Phyllis Harris, of the Altadena NAACP
• The Rev. Barry Faison, Clergy Council
• Pastor Jean Burch, Community Bible Church
• Bernadine Broadous, a local educator
• Brent Musson, a local resident who voiced concerns at the November meeting

Lt. Roosevelt Johnson, McLean and Deputy Lamark Williams represented the Altadena Sheriff's Station.

The committee's recommendations, which can be viewed in full on the right, include:

• Conduct a survey of the community to find out the important issues with regards to relations with the police
• Work on establishing a mentoring relationship between deputies and children in the community
• Investigate any allegations of discourtesy on the part of deputies dealing with community members
• Get police more involved in local events involving the black community and recruit more black children into the Sheriff's Department Explorer's Program
• Increase communication opportunities with youth by creating a Facebook page and producing a video on what kids should do when they encounter a sheriff's deputy.