PASADENA - Community leaders on Wednesday called for sweeping changes in the city's police department as allegations of gross misconduct continue to surface.
In recent weeks, accusations of police officers taking part in a kidnapping, being involved in an assault, lying under oath, soliciting bribes and making a death threat prompted many leaders to call for for swift policy changes and a housecleaning.
"(Police Chief) Phil Sanchez hasn't shaken up that department yet," said Ishmael Trone, a politically active Pasadena businessman. "I am wondering when he is going to do it."
Trone said it's time to push out many of the department's senior officers.
"We need to let him get some new officers to replace some of these unsavory officers," Trone said. "It's time for a housecleaning."
Sanchez did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Trone would also like to see Sanchez take the lead on changing police department disciplinary policy in the wake of the recent controversies.
"Somebody files a grievance and its justified, we are going to put you on leave without pay," he said.
Randy Ertll, executive director of the community group El Centro De Accion Social, would take officer discipline even further.
"I think they need to be fired if they do something inappropriate," Ertll said. "Yes, there are procedures and policies and it's usually paid leave. But if they are doing something unethical they should get fired."
City Manager Michael Beck said his administration is not moving toward massive reforms within the department.
"We are not heading toward that direction now, Beck said.
"We need to finish the investigation and determine whether the claims are accurate and if they are accurate the appropriate actions will be taken and if they are not accurate we need to move on," he said. "There is nothing that suggests there needs to be a wholesale change in the police department."
Misconduct allegations involving Pasadena police officers date back to April when defense attorney Michael Kraut filed a complaint alleging that Officer Kevin Okamoto failed to turn over exculpatory evidence in the criminal case.
In May, Pasadena resident Jamaul Harvey filed a complaint alleging that Detective Keith Gomez threatened to kill him during an interview. Harvey was accused in the 2006 murder of Tommie Evans. He was ultimately acquitted.
An alternate juror on the Harvey case submitted a signed declaration where she accused Gomez of lying on the stand to assure a guilty verdict.
Gomez and Okamoto are being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for alleged police misconduct. Officials gave no timeline as to when the investigation will conclude.
In recent weeks, several lawyers filed complaints of misconduct ranging from false arrest of clients to the alleged beating of Jeremi Carr inside Pasadena Police Department headquarters.
In late July, Attorney Jeff Voll submitted a written declaration to a Pasadena Superior Court judge accusing Okamoto of trying to solicit a bribe.
Harvey's attorney, Pam Dansby-De Catur, said she was "absolutely appalled" by the allegations of bribery.
"That's a serious claim for an attorney to make," Dansby-De Catur said. "(Voll's) reputation is on the line, his bar license is on the line, and his livelihood is on the line."
Meanwhile, the city is preparing a defense in the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the family of Kendrec McDade. The unarmed 19-year-old was gunned down by Pasadena officers Mathew Griffin and Jeffrey Newlen on March 24.
Oscar Carrillo - the key witness in the McDade case whose 9-1-1 call set in motion the series of events which led to the teenager's death - was deposed on Friday.
In the months since the McDade shooting and subsequent police misconduct allegations, frustrations with the slow rate of progress have begun to boil over in the city, community leaders said Wednesday.
"I am not happy with the pace of the investigation. My client made his complaint more than two months ago," Dansby-De Catur said.
And given the volume of formal complaints filed against the department and the nature of those complaints, Ertll said a civil rights group should be asked to intervene and take legal action against the department to force policy changes.
"We need to bring in the Advancement Project from Los Angeles," Ertll said. "It's important to get a group like that involved to improve policy. We need changes for the better to protect black and Latino kids."
Ertll said such a bold move would help restore the department's credibility, which he said has been in short supply following the McDade shooting.
"Definitely after the Kendrec McDade shooting a lot of healing needed to happen and relationships needed to be improved, because that affected people's trust," Ertll said.
Instead, the community has been hit with a series of allegations against the Pasadena Police Department, reigniting suspicions and reopening old wounds, Trone said.
"This is the `Pasadena Way,' from Leroy Barnes to McDade. We have been dealing with this since Michael Zinzun," Trone said, referring to past officer-involved shootings in Pasadena.
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