CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
The Impact of Police Violence on African Americans: A Case Study of the Pasadena Police
Department
A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of Master of Public Administration in Public Sector Management and Leadership
By
Michael Oliver Armstrong
December 2020
Copyright by Michael Oliver Armstrong 2020
ii
The graduate project of Michael Oliver Armstrong is approved:
Dr. Ravi K. Roy, PhD Date
Dr. Ariane David, PhD Date
Dr. Anaïs Valiquette L’Heureux, PhD, Chair Date
California State University, Northridge
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Table of Contents
Copyright Page ii
Signature Page iii
Abstract vi
Introduction 1
Review of the Literature 2
Definition of Police Violence 2
History of Police Violence 2
Mental Health 4
Policies that Foster Police Brutality 5
Community Policing 6
Body Worn Cameras 7
Impact on Youths and Children witnessing Police Violence 9
Limitation in Existing Research 10
Literature Summary 11
Research Question and Aim 12
Research Design 12
Methodology 12
Stakeholders 12
Approach: Survey 14
Discussion 15
iv
Conclusions 17
References 20
Appendix A : Survey Questionnaire Part 1 25
Appendix B : Survey Questionnaire Part 2 26
Appendix C : Survey Questionnaire Part 3 27
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Abstract
The Impact of Police Violence on African Americans: A Case Study of the Pasadena Police Department
By
Michael Oliver Armstrong
Master of Public Administration in Public Sector Management and Leadership
Historically, the police have used excessive force on individuals who participated in
significant political and social justice movements, including the civil rights movement of the
1960s, the anti-war demonstrations, and the war on drugs. However, research shows that this
excessive force continues. Statistical data released by the Bureau of Justice statistics showed that
from 2003 to 2009, at least 4,813 people died while being arrested by the local police. There
were 2,876 deaths; 1,643 or 57.1 % of the deaths were "people of color." In 2014, the U.N.
Committee against Torture condemned police and excessive force by law enforcement in the
U.S., highlighting frequent and recurrent fatal police shootings of unarmed black men. The
United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent's 2016 Report noted
that recent United States police killings and the trauma are reminiscent of lynching's past racial
terror of lynching.
An FBI homicide report from 2012 showed that while blacks represent 13% of the U.S.
population, they amounted to 31% of those killed by police. Some possible solutions are
community policing, body-worn cameras, and replacing police officers with mental health
experts for non-violent crimes.
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Introduction
Several social science disciplines, including psychology, have researched police violence against racial minorities (Bryant-Davis, 2017). George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Tamir Rice,
Breonna Taylor, and Andres Guardado are but a few names of some members of minority populations who have recently appeared in the news media due to their untimely deaths at the hands of local police officers. There is a problem when police officers have to apply knees to the neck, break down the door of the wrong person's home, shoot someone who wants to walk to his sister's house or shoot an 18-year-old in the back six times. These individuals died under questionable circumstances and were ultimately brutalized or shot to death by police (Dreyer,
2020; Pillay, 2020; Stone, 2017; Nieto del Rio, 2020).
Hirschfield (2015) argues that American police officers kill many more citizens than
European police officers. The United States has developed a reputation for police brutality and has reported far more police officers' incidents than the rest of the Western World. U.S. police killed 1,093 people in 2016 and 1,146 people in 2015 (Hirschfield, 2015). Why do American cops kill so many compared to European cops? (Hirschfield, 2015). Racism helps explain why
African Americans and Native Americans are particularly vulnerable to police violence
(Hirschfield, 2015). This paper will explore why an FBI homicide report from 2012 showed that while blacks represent 13% of the U.S. population, they amounted to 31% of those killed by police (Lopez, 2018). Why were Leroy Barnes Jr, Kendrec McDade, Reginald Thomas Jr,
Matthew Jonathan Luis Hurtado, and Anthony McClain were all killed by the Pasadena Police
Department officers who suffered no consequences? Also, why are the arrests by police officers so violent that it results in permanent injury?
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Review of the Literature
There have been more killings by police officers in the United States than any other country in the Western World (Hirschfield, 2015). This literature review will explore the systemic causes of police violence against the Black community in the United States, such as laws that reinforce explicit and implicit policies that foster police brutality, police force bias, police training, tactics, and police hierarchy that contribute to police brutality. It will then review the research into ways to mitigate and end this violence, such as community policing and body- worn cameras. Finally, it will address gaps in the research for further interrogation into solutions to end police brutality in the Black community.
Definition of Police Violence
Police violence, which researchers define as repeated beatings, evident brutality, and excessive force, has been prevalent against minority communities (Conyers, 1981). According to
Lyle (2016), police brutality is the application of excessive force by police on citizens. Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (2011) showed that from 2003 to 2009, at least
4,813 people died while being arrested by the local police. There were 2,876 deaths; 1,643 or
57.1% of the deaths were "people of color" (Kappolar, 2014). An FBI homicide report from 2012 observed that while blacks represent 13% of the U.S. population, they amounted to 31% of those killed by police (Lopez, 2015). At least 4,813 people died while being arrested by the local police between 2003 and 2009 (Burch, 2011).
History of Police Violence
History demonstrates that five years after the Ferguson protest, when officer Darren
Wilson killed Michael Brown, the officer-involved shooting deaths have not diminished
(Sekhon, 2019). The police violence has been inflicted on minority communities throughout the
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nation since the 1700s. While white southern landowners relied almost exclusively on slave
labor, they were afraid of a black rebellion, and thus, the police aimed to employ the Slave Patrol
to catch runaway slaves to beat and whip escaped slaves. These patrols were meant to control the
movements and behavior of the slave population. As a result, the Slave Patrol was one of the
earliest forms of policing in the South (Potter, 1985). According to Grabiner (2016), the
similarities between the slave patrol and modern American policing are too noticeable to ignore
or dismiss. Hence, the slave patrol should be considered a forerunner of modern American law
enforcement. The Slave Patrol had three main functions: to chase down, apprehend, and return
runaway slaves; to engage in organized terror to deter slave revolts; and to maintain a form of
discipline for slave workers subject to summary justice outside the law (Turner et al., 2006, p.
186).
Police racial violence has been an issue for a long time. President Lyndon Johnson initiated the Kerner Commission to determine how and why the violent 1967 riots killed 43 people in Detroit and 26 in Newark. President Johnson had three questions; "What happened?"
"Why did it happen?" "What can be done to prevent it from happening again?" (Gooden, 2018).
The most recent investigation of rioting up to that point had been the McCone Commission, which explored the 1965 Watts riot and accused "riffraff" of starting the unrest. In contrast, relying on social scientists' work and in-depth studies of the nation's impoverished black urban areas, the Kerner Commission reached an entirely different interpretation of the riots' cause
(George, 2018). In March 1968, the Kerner Commission declared white racism—not black anger—is the cause of the violent uprising (George, 1968).
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The Kerner Report outlined a goal of moving toward "a single society and a single
American identity" (Gooden, 2018, p.2). It called for substantial federal funds to assist African
American communities and prevent further racial polarization and violence. The recommendations were in education, employment, housing, police-community relations, and welfare. The Johnson Administration reacted harshly to the recommendations, and the Nixon
Administration made the recommendations an impossibility to become policy (Loessberg &
Koskinen, 2018).
Mental Health
Almost half of the people shot dead in the United States by police officers have a mental
illness (McCarthy, 2015). The Treatment Advocacy Center, a non-profit organization, states that
the number of individuals killed by police is unknown because there is no federal database that
collects all information regarding the use of deadly force by law enforcement agencies
(McCarthy, 2015). "Young black men are also 21 times more likely to be killed by cops [police]
than young white men, according to one Pro Publica analysis of the data we have. In short,
people who belong to marginalized communities are at a higher risk of being shot than those who
are not" (Gabrielson, 2014, p. 1).
One of the solutions suggested is psychological testing using the Implicit Association
Test (IAT), which looks at racial bias. It is suggested that both psychological testing and IAT should be administered to police officers every three years during their first ten years on the force (Grabiner, 2016, p. 69).
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Policies That Foster Police Brutality
In more recent times, because of the redlining, there were no blacks in white
neighborhoods. Therefore, the white police officers became agents and protectors for the white
suburbanites' neighborhoods (Anderson, 1990). In more recent times, the white police have been
agents for white, and affluent communities have become agents helping the white suburbanite's
neighborhood protect their neighborhoods. According to Anderson (1990), the police role is to
protect law-abiding citizens from not law-abiding citizens. The police have classified citizens by
age, race, class, gender, and criminality. The neighborhood and the white suburbanites are their
allies. Anderson (1990) concludes that police officers consider black males to be delinquents
who need to be searched and frisked for weapons every time they are in the white neighborhood.
The fear comes from the white suburbanites of the anonymous criminal black males in the wrong
neighborhood. The wrong neighborhood for the black male is any white neighborhood
(Anderson, 1990).
By definition, the no-knock raids require force to enter the apartment or house; they are a legal breaking and entering. Oppel and Taylor suggest that the no-knock raid is an excuse for police to use their surplus weaponry and gear. One example of no-knock raids was publicized worldwide when police used the no-knock rule to break down the door and enter Breonna
Taylor's apartment in Kentucky (Oppel & Taylor, 2020). According to Grabiner, there are 20,000 no-knock raids a year. The majority of raids are on black people who send a message that the people who are being raided are the enemy (Grabiner, 2014).
In contrast, Garcia (1993) argues that suspects do not have a chance to flush the drugs down the toilet in the no-knock rule. The United States Supreme Court elevated the "Knock and
Announced "rule over thirty years ago in Ker v. California. While the Ker Court held that the
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Fourth Amendment requires the police to announce themselves before entering a home, the court
is not clear on specific exceptions.
Community Policing
Community policing can be defined as a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnership and problem-solving techniques to look at public safety issues such as crime, social disorders, and fear of crime. (COPS Office,
2012). Historically, community police officers were confined to their cars and isolated from the community. According to Scheider (2012), numerous studies questioned the effectiveness of this approach and community relations. Especially during the 1960s, crime, inner-city riots, public housing, and municipal policing have been researched (Scheider, 2013). For police officers who internalize community policing principles and practices, lethal force is the last resort, used only to protect lives—including their own. These police officers want to make it home safely. They also understand the power of de-escalation techniques for calming rather than inflaming passions. They are more perceptive, less impulsive, less dangerous to the people they have been hired to protect and serve (Stamper, 2016).
Community policing helps police officers to engage in proactive problem-solving efforts systemically and routinely. Problem-solving is an approach to identify problems, collect and analyze data, and evaluate their effectiveness (Goldstein, 1990). There should be an improved mechanism to identify, modify, and enhance the Police Officers and Community's analytical capacity to understand and address long-term problems? (Scheider, 2013).
Kimbrough (2016) wrote that Scott Nadeau, the then-police chief of Columbia Heights,
Minneapolis, believed that "in community policing, the police need to both understand and work with the community, and that cannot happen when no relationship and understanding are in
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place" (Kimbrough, 2016, p. 2). The new police chief, Nadeau, described community policing, which required all officers to spend at least 10 hours on community-oriented programming. They could work in elder abuse, meet with immigrants enrolled in adult primary educations classes, promote anti-bullying by reading to young elementary students, mentor elementary school students, or participate in various other community involvement efforts (Kimbrough. 2016).
However, Kimbrough (2016) points out that some police officers resist this style of policing.
Brainard (2011) investigated the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Department (DC
MPD) effort to facilitate an electronic commons in which residents and police department
personnel can work together, via online discussion groups, to address crime and safety issues.
Brainard analyzed quantitative and qualitative methods to answer two research questions: (1) Do
the online discussion groups fulfill an electronic commons' spirit? (2) What is the nature of the
online relationship between the police and the community? The findings show that although DC
MPD has created a vehicle for online discussion, it has had mixed success in creating an
electronic commons. The commons are shrinking in public life, government-citizen
relationships, deliberations, and thinning scholars argue that public administration bears the
responsibility (Brainard, 2011). The Washington DC administrators told the community what
they wanted and what they should expect (Brainard, 2011).
Body Worn Cameras
Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are a relatively new technology intended to increase
transparency in policing, decrease police brutality, and decrease complaints related to police
violence (Fouche, 2014). Because of what happened in Ferguson and North Charleston, more
police learn to deal with the need to wear body cams (Davis, 2015). Ferguson, Missouri, is where
the now-infamous police shooting of an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, stirred up
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allegations of police misconduct and a pattern of racism within the department. In another incident in North Charleston, South Carolina, Walter Scott, an unarmed black man, died after being shot in the back while fleeing prompted public outcry for greater police accountability.
Former President Barack Obama called for 50,000 body cameras to be issued to the police
(Davis, 2015).
In Rialto, CA., two years before Ferguson, Chief Farrer launched a program to see the effects of use-of-force complaints with body cams. There was a 60 % reduction in officer use- of- force incidents and an 88% reduction in the number of citizen complaints due to body-worn cameras (Davis, 2015). A small town in Florida, Widmore, population 3,000, created its policies
using guidelines from a report released in 2014. The name of the report is Implementing a Body-
Worn Camera Program: Recommendations and Lessons Learned. It was created by the Police
Executive Research Forum, with reinforcement from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of
Community- Oriented Policing Services. The report recommends that officers be required to
activate their body-worn cameras when responding to all calls. However, nothing was said about
the interrogation room when tactics might be used to get illegal confessions (Davis, 2015).
There were no body cam videos at the beating of Rodney King; however, George
Holliday had made an eighty-one second home videotape on March 3, 1991 (Rabinowitz, 2015).
After Mr. Holiday released the tape to CNN and NBC, four white police officers were seen
swinging their batons on an unarmed, prone black man 52 times (Rabinowitz, 2015). According
to Rabinowitz (2015), the video was self-evident. The police officers probably militarized racial
violence perpetrated by the LAPD against the city's black and Latino citizens. According to
Rabinowitz, the police officers claimed they were in fear because Mr. King had a criminal
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record, so they beat him. They were acquitted, which sparked the 1992 Los Angeles uprising
(2015).
Impact on Youths and Children witnessing Police Violence
Families with limited incomes are increasingly moving into neighborhoods with high drug activity levels, crime, and violence. According to the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services/ Public Health Services (USDHS), families may experience direct exposure
(e.g., robbery, assault) and indirect exposure (e.g., witnessing violent events, knowing a victim).
Parents are becoming more concerned with their children becoming victims, witnesses, and perpetrators of violence. In 1992, violence took the lives of more than 2,400 children, as reported by the (National Center for Health Statistics, 1995).
Too often, adults arrested for violent crimes have a history of exposure to family and community violence. (Saving Youth from Violence, 1994). Although educators can see or recognize the adverse effects of exposure to community violence, there is no practical research examining children's impact. "Post-traumatic stress disorders presented by children exposed to chronic community violence" (Drell, et al, 1993)." The symptoms include flashbacks inability to concentrate, sleep nightmares, numbing and avoidance, and increase arousal" (Schering et al.,
1995). These symptoms can also be linked to low performances on standardized tests and school in general.
Intergenerational trauma refers to families experiencing severe traumas such as war, extreme poverty, dislocation, enslavement, and genocide for which their descendants continue to suffer consequences (Heart, 2003). Racial socialization resulting from intergenerational trauma may include educating a child how to act when interacting with police officers (Sue & Sue, 2012).
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Limitations in Existing Research Existing research tells us that there is no federal database collecting all the information
about police use of deadly force; the number of individuals killed by police is unknown.
The municipal police can escape criminal prosecution through formal and informal procedures
(Sekhon, 2019). According to the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police
Department, a commission was initiated by former Mayor Tom Bradley after the beating of
Rodney King. The Rodney King beating was historical in law enforcement; former President
Bush called the beating "sickening (Christopher, 1991). After extensive examination, the commission pointed out a significant number of officers who repetitively used excessive force.
The commission also found excessive bias and racism in the department. Instead of the department preparing policies, practices, and procedures – these officers were promoted and received positive evaluations. If there were more data available through a federal data basis, these police officers maybe would be reprimanded instead of promoted.
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Literature Summary
Police violence is the powerful practice of unwarranted coercion, usually physical, but potentially in verbal assault and psychological intimidation, by police, which constitutes abuse.
This review looks at the literature what it says about the effect police violence has on the community. Police beatings, shootings, and killings have impacted the communities across the nation since slavery. A white police officer frequently shoots, beats, or kills a black person who is often innocent of any criminal act. The community protests because the police officer usually does not suffer any consequences. In a few instances, the officer may be fired from his job.
Community policing may be a way to de-escalate a situation rather than inflaming the place where the incident occurred. The Columbia Heights, Minneapolis police chief described in detail a plan for community policing. However, all officers were not on board. One officer said that he "signed up to be a cop and not to mentor to some kid." He "signed up to arrest bad guys."
BWC can consequently reduce the use of force incidents between police and the public and change both groups' behavior. The notion is that when others are watching, we tend to do the right thing and behave. A gap in the literature review looks at the increase in beatings, shooting, and killings of African Americans and their impact on the community.
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Research Question and Aim
What is the impact of the police beatings, shootings, and killings on African Americans in Pasadena, CA? Why is it that most police officers who commit police violence do not suffer any consequences?
The survey questionnaire will explore in a survey, what is the impact of the police beatings, shootings, and killings on the African American community in Pasadena, Ca. The survey questionnaire will also explore why police violence has increased, and the police officers' consequences who beat, shoot, and kill innocent Pasadena civilians. The research project aims to learn what policies and procedures are available to stop the beatings, shootings, and killings of minorities and the mentally ill in the community. Also, to explore countries that have no police brutality. What have we learned, and what are the consequences of the officers who commit police violence? The ultimate contribution can provide the community with a better relationship between the citizens and the police department.
More research and studies should be done by understanding why so many minorities, especially young black men, are being brutalized or shot to death. There should be a determination as to the effect of community policing, and body-worn cameras might be a solution to police violence. There is no comprehensive official database to track police violence, although there have been attempts at the federal level to create one.
Because George Floyd was murdered, there have been protests worldwide. There is an increase in police violence and confrontations because of the protests. There should be a discussion among various stakeholders to discover the best procedures to close the literature review gap. Future research should aim to comprehend the stakeholder's role in decreasing beatings, shootings, and killings by police officers.
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Research Design
The primary section discusses the research design and methodology that will be applied
to answer the research question. This cross-sectional research design with explore the rationale,
effectiveness, and applicability of community policing and body-worn cameras. The following
sections will discuss the general approach data collection methods that will be applied, projected
results, and the discussion of community policing, body-worn camera concepts, and replacing
police with mental health practitioners for non-violent offenders. The study aims to decide how
community policing can stop the beatings, shootings, and killing of minority citizens. This study
concerns all community stakeholders and everyone who is disturbed by increased police
violence.
Methodology
The study's purpose will be attained through the application of a quantitative design. A
quantitative approach will gather feedback from the community and the police department.
The approach will allow the research to explore the applicability of community policing.
Quantitative methods will be utilized to measure research participants' attitudes further.
Stakeholders
Community policing stakeholders include police officers, victims, and community
participants. Police officers have warranted law employees of the police force (Dulan, 1996). A
victim of a crime is an identifiable person who has been harmed individually and directly by a
perpetrator. Community members are a group or network of persons who are connected (James,
2020).
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Approach: Survey
This survey will consist of 6 questions separated into three parts. Appendix A would be given to police officers employed by the Pasadena Police Department, and Appendix B will be given to the Chief of Police. Appendix C will be given to victims of police violence and members of the community.
With a community policing approach, every interaction provides an opportunity for
learning to strengthen communities and improve society. The research aims to involve all
stakeholders in the data collection process. The survey will add to data gathered by the interview
to collect quantitative responses associated with community policing effectiveness.
Appendix A and C will require the participants to answer (1) Yes, (2) No, or (3) I do not know.
There is room for comments. Appendix B will require the Chief of Police to (1) Agree (2)
Disagree (3) Comments.
The questions will focus on how each rate their interaction with the police and whether or
not the community feels the department is transparent when delivering information. Future
research should aim to understand the impact of the stakeholder's role with the police department
in decreasing the violence against minorities.
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Discussion
The survey's expected contribution for stakeholders can examine the beatings, shootings, and killings in the country and ask what can be done? There appears to be an increase in police violence since the execution of George Floyd.
The United States has disturbing statistics by the U.N. Committee against Torture, which condemned excessive force by law enforcement in the U.S., highlighting frequent and recurrent fatal police shootings of unarmed black men. Also, an FBI homicide report from 2012 showed that while blacks represent 13% of the U.S. population, they amount to 31% of those killed by police.
Some of the benefits of this project are that perhaps policies, practices, or procedures may be adopted to combat police violence. A particular community segment is frightened and fearful that their sons and daughters will not make it home without being choked, shot, or killed.
Another segment of the community and our future, which would benefit from community policing, is the children. Children would benefit because they will not be exposed to the violence perpetrated by the police officers. Children who witness chronic community violence will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders. "The symptoms include flashbacks, inability to concentrate, sleep nightmares, numbing and avoidance" (Drell, et al, 1993).
The police would receive the community's merits if the police went to an annual barbeque or played basketball with teenagers at a local park.
Anger is observed as a normal emotional response to a perceived injustice from the death of Travon Martin. Anger is among the most common reactions to discrimination. (Carter et al.
2008, Swim et al., 2003). Not only are African Americans experiencing anger, but they also are experiencing anxiety manifested from a reduced sense of safety because Travon Martin was
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approached and killed by someone random and unknown to him. A sense of safety is essential as it reflects a heightened sense of all danger (Harrell, 2000). If there are dialogue and conversation between the community and police officers, the benefits outweigh the limitations.
The researcher will hand-deliver the survey consisting of Appendix A to the Pasadena
Police Department in a sealed envelope and will be given to 100 police officers. Appendix B will be given to the Chief of Police. The survey consisting of Appendix C will be submitted through the community's hyperlocal social network called "Nextdoor." The researcher will ensure that sufficient steps are taken to keep the respondents' anonymity and the research's goals and benefits. Informed consent will be secured by the survey's initial page, the participant's consent form. The dissemination of the survey result could be sensitive. Appendix A survey will be handed to the first 100 police officers, and they do not have to sign the survey. Appendix C will be sent online to 100 respondents as well.
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Conclusion
I propose that the city council work with the Coalition Against Police Abuse to appoint an oversight commission to deal with problems plaguing the City of Pasadena, California. I agree with the city council's creation of an 11-member oversight member civilian commission. My opinion is the commission should consist of public administrators and stakeholders from Black
Lives Matter (BLM), Pasadena City Council, Pasadena Police Department, Pasadena Police
Chief, Pasadena City Attorney, Los Angeles Public Defenders Office, Los Angeles District
Attorney, a resident of Pasadena, a representation from the California Attorney General,
California Attorney General, U.S. Justice Department and from a newly formed Youth council.
This commission would evaluate the cases in Pasadena that resulted in police violence, such as the shootings of Leroy Barnes, 19-year-old Kendrec McDade, the father of eight, Reginald
Thomas Jr., Matthew Jonathan Hurtado, and Anthony McClain. The commission will also look at the violent arrest of Christopher Ballew and Jasmine Richards. These cases need to be re- opened, investigated, and determined if there should be consequences for the officers whose police violence caused their deaths. This Commission of Public Administrators and stakeholders should examine needed change on police violence, looking at the effect of the needed change on police violence prevention against minority groups and what procedures, practices or policies are needed to combat police violence against minorities? This commission should consider proposing to reach out to the federal government to mandate legal and professional consequences for police officers who participate in chokeholds, questionable and violent killings of members of minority groups, and officers who participate in the beating, shooting, and killing, and especially choking of minority groups.
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The Chief of Police in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, presents an example of community
policing's practical implications. The Chief of Police in that city required his officers to be
involved in community policing. However, a few stated they instead quit the police force than do
community policing.
There should be more research done on body-worn cameras, which may slow down
police violence. If police officers turn on the body cams, they know that their actions are on
video. Body cams should be a federal mandate as former President Obama ordered 50,000 body
cameras to be issued to police after the Ferguson incident.
My opinion is there should be research into police education and retraining; Police should take racism, sexism, and sensitivity classes. The commission can analyze psychological testing by using the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which look s at racial bias. It is suggested that both psychological testing and IAT should be administered to police officers every three years during their first ten years on the force.
The most practical implication of this project is to recognize the community's segment who suffers the most. That is the children of the mentally ill who witness their father's death at the hands of police violence. For example, Reginald Thomas, Jr had called 911 for help as he was suffering from a mental health situation. Instead of sending a mental health expert or a social worker for a non-violent crime, six police officers from the Pasadena Police Department and the
Los Angeles County Sheriff Department. Thomas' eight children saw their father, shocked with stun guns, battered with a baton, punched and kicked in the head, repeatedly applying tasers, placing him in leg hobbles attached to handcuffs kneeling and laying on the restrained Thomas.
All six officers sat on Thomas while pressing the air out of his lungs until he was dead. Although
Thomas may have appeared to be intoxicated, he was not aggressive toward his family or the
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police – he was experiencing a mental condition that likely would have been rightly diagnosed
by mental health professionals (given his history). The City of Pasadena settled a lawsuit for 1.5
million dollars for wrongful death, but the Los Angeles County District Attorney did not file any
excessive force charges. Would this settlement have replaced the love, nurturing, and affection of
a parent for the children who witnessed this encounter?
The children are our future; however, what future do the children have if they witness their parents killed by the police, and they are terrified and uncertain, wondering if they will live to be an adult? Mr. Thomas is a case of a mentally ill black man calling the Pasadena Police
Department for help, but instead, the result was death. The impact of police violence on minorities in Pasadena, California, may have a current, adverse effect upon our community as a whole that lasts into the future.
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Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire Part 1
This survey is a questionnaire for Pasadena Police Officers.
Would you answer (1) for yes and (2) for no, and please comment on your answers.
It is not necessary to sign your name.
1. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department issuing a worn body camera?
2. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department applying Community-Oriented-
Policing?
3. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department offering any sensitivity training
when dealing with suspects with mental health problems?
4. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department offering psychological testing
administered to police officers?
5. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department having a Civilian Oversight
Committee?
6. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department having the practice to replace
police officers with mental health practitioners for non-violent crimes?
7. What is the impact of the police beatings, shootings, and killings on African Americans in
Pasadena, CA?
8. Why have the beatings, shootings, and killings of African Americans in Pasadena, CA,
increased?
9. What should be the consequences of a Pasadena police officer who beats, shoots, and kills
an innocent person for any reason?
25
Appendix B: Survey Questionnaire Part 2
This survey is a questionnaire for the Pasadena Police Chief. Would you answer (1) Agree or (2)
Disagree and present a comment about why you Agree or Disagree on a separate piece of paper?
1. Eliminate "stop and frisk."
2. Decriminalize marijuana arrest
3. Demilitarize the police
4. Community Policing
5. Residence requirement
6. Police education and retraining
7. Psychological testing
8. Increase minority and female hiring
9. Revise police promotion criteria
10. Role of police unions
11. A civilian complaint review board
12. National police job performance database
13. Increase in beatings, shootings, and killings
14. Consequences of police officers who commit violence
26
Appendix C: Survey Questionnaire Part 3
This survey is a questionnaire for the community of Pasadena.
Would you answer (1) for yes and (2) for no, and please comment on your answers.
1. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department issuing a worn body camera?
2. Would you agree that the Pasadena Police Department should apply Community Oriented
Policing?
3. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department offering any sensitivity training
when dealing with suspects with mental health problems?
4. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department offering psychological testing
administered to police officers?
5. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department having a Civilian Oversight
Committee?
6. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department having the practice to replace
police officers with mental health practitioners for non-violent crimes?
7 Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department offering psychological testing
administered to police officers?
7. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department having a Civilian Oversight
Committee?
8. Would you agree with the Pasadena Police Department having the practice to replace
police officers with mental health practitioners for non-violent crimes?
9. What is the impact of the police beatings, shootings, and killings on African Americans
in Pasadena, CA?
27