SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2016VOLUME 10 NO. 23SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016

VOLUME 10 NO. 40

PASADENA MAN DIES IN 
CONFRONTATION WITH POLICE

A Pasadena man died early Friday morning after being tased by 
police as they tried to subdue, what they said was a, knife-wielding 
suspect —by afternoon the situation had a crowd of protesters 
demanding answers. 

 According to police, officers responded to a domestic disturbance 
call in the 200 Block of East Orange Grove Blvd., at about 2:20 
a.m. and encountered an African American male adult armed 
with a knife.

At press time, the suspect’s name was not given pending an 
investigation according to a press statement by police. Although, 
protesters Friday afternoon said the man’s name was Reginald 
Thomas. known in community as J.R. 



Police shot Thomas with a Taser after they said he did not comply 
with officer’s orders and attempted to re-enter an occupied 
apartment at the location.

Witnesses described Thomas as mentally ill and no stranger to 

police. A small group of residents, including Black Lives Matter 
activists gathered at the scene, which later grew into a crowd. 
Many said Thomas called police himself asking for help.



Police said after restraining Thomas, the officers observed him 
not breathing at which time CPR and life saving measures were 
implemented. The officers continued CPR until the arrival of 
Pasadena fire paramedics who continued to render aid. Despite 
the efforts Thomas died at the scene, they said.

Police also said there were no firearms involved in the situation as 
early reports has suggested.



D. Lee/MVNews

SIERRA MADRE CERT GRADUATES 27 NEW MEMBERS


The Sierra Madre 
Community Emergency 
Response Team (CERT) 
graduated 27 new members 
on Saturday, September 
17th from their CERT 
Basic Training class. The 
training, which took place 
over two Saturdays and 
three nights, is a 25 hour 
FEMA certified course. The 
class is designed to ensure 
citizens have the basic skills 
to act safely while assisting 
themselves, their families, 
and neighbors during 
a major disaster, until 
emergency services are 
available. Included among 
the students was CERT’s 
youngest graduate and 
the first to graduate from 
Sierra Madre’s Teen CERT 
program, thirteen year old Katherine Gjerde 
who completed the entire adult course.

In addition to the 27 graduates there were 
another 17 students who completed at 
least a portion of their CERT training. The 
participants were mainly from Sierra Madre 
but also included students from Alhambra, 
Altadena, Arcadia, Glendora, Los Angeles, 
Monrovia, Pasadena, San Gabriel, Santa Fe 
Springs, and South Pasadena. 

The largest training exercise ever, with 
75 people involved, included half a 
dozen firefighters from the Sierra Madre 
Volunteer Fire Department, 15 members of 
Sierra Madre CERT running the Incident 
Command Post, and nearly two dozen 
“victims” from Sierra Madre Middle School’s 
Service Club suffering from an array of cuts 
and bruises, severe burns, arterial bleeds, a 
broken arm, and even a severe head wound 
resulting in “death”. Special thanks went 
to Sierra Madre resident Nichole Rinker 
of www.fancyfacez.com for providing the 
moulage (makeup) services. Photographic 
documentation of the event was provided by 
Gary Hood and Steve Wylie, including the 
use of a drone to get a birds-eye view of what 
was taking place. 

CERT also expresses gratitude to Bruce 
Inman and Chris Cimino for allowing the 
use of the Sierra Madre City Yard behind 
Sierra Vista Park for the disaster exercise, 
and also to the Sierra Madre Community 
Services Department and the Sierra Madre 
YMCA for making the Youth Activity 
Center available for classroom training. 

Lunch after the exercise was provided by 
Wayne Williams of Professional Advisory 
Services in Arcadia. Following that there 
was a written test and evaluation, and 
then the graduates were awarded FEMA 
certificates by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s 
Department volunteer CERT Instructor 
Dudley Rainey. As part of the training, 
graduates received a CERT backpack with 
their personal protection equipment. This 
was made possible by a generous last-minute 
grant from the Sierra Madre Community 
Foundation, and Brenda Hunemiller, the 
Area D Coordinator for the Los Angeles 
County Office of Civil Defense/Disaster 
Management. 

The Sierra Madre CERT program, which has 
now trained over 150 members, got its start 
in Sierra Madre in 2009 under the guidance 
of Caroline Brown, Gary Hood, and Mike 
Kinney, and operates under the direction 
of the Sierra Madre Fire Department. 
CERT’s purpose is to educate citizens for 
emergency preparedness and to assist the 
City of Sierra Madre when called out by 
the Fire Department. As part of educating 
the citizens of Sierra Madre in disaster 
preparedness, CERT distributes informative 
material at numerous city events. 

Funding for Sierra Madre CERT is 
made possible through grants from the 
Los Angeles County Office of Disaster 
Management, Rotary Club, Sierra Madre 
Civic Club, Sierra Madre Community 
Foundation, the Sierra Madre Woman’s 
Club, plus numerous other donations from 
businesses and private entities. CERT also 
holds a fundraiser each year selling glow 
sticks on Halloween. For information about 
CERT, our monthly meetings, or the next 
Sierra Madre CERT class, check our website 
www.sierramadreemergency.org or send an 
email to info@sierramadrecert.org.

Robert Gjerde, President

SIERRA MADRE NEWS BRIEFS

From City Manager's Report

STONEGATE

The Planning and Community Preservation Department is 
continuing to review the resubmitted applications for Hillside 
Development Permits and Conditional Use Permits for properties 
within the Stonegate development. The Department received 
resubmittals the week of May 9, 2016 consisting of Lots 7, 21, and 
22, resubmittals the week of June 6, 2016 for Lots 1 and 2, and 
resubmittals the week of August 1, 2016 for lots 16, 17, 19, 25, and 
26.A submittal for Lot 23 was received on September 15, 2016.
The plans are in various stages of review by staff to determine if 
the applications are complete and to confirm if staff comments 
were addressed since the last submittal prior to being scheduled 
before the Planning Commission at a noticed public hearing.

YOUTH SPORTS FIELD USE MEETING

On October 12th at 6:30 p.m. the Community Services Committee 
will hold a special meeting in the Council Chambers to allow 
the public to give input or concerns regarding the new Field Use 
Agreement between the various youth sports leagues.

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, AND NATURAL 
RESOURCES COMMISSION UPHOLDS STAFF 
DECISION

At Wednesday evening’s EENR Commission meeting the 
Commission heard comments from four individuals regarding 
an appeal of Director Inman’s decision to remove the ficus tree 
in front of 85 South Baldwin. Attendance at the meeting was 
unusually large, with all apparently there to hear the discussion 
about the tree. After lengthy discussion, the Commission voted 
4-0 (& one abstention) to uphold staff’s recommendation. Under 
the provisions of Municipal Code Chapter 2.68 the appellants 
have 10 calendar days to appeal the Commission’s decision to the 
City Council.

COUNCIL SEEKS INPUT FROM RESIDENTS 
ON THE SELECTION OF THE NEXT CITY 
MANAGER


The City of Sierra Madre will soon begin its search 
to replace retiring City Manager Elaine Aguilar. 
To that end, the council, at its regular meeting 
expressed a desire to hear from the community 
exactly what characteristics they would like to see 
in Sierra Madre's next CM.

According to the City's website, "As the 
administrative head of city government, the city 
manager is appointed by the City Council to 
enforce municipal laws, direct daily operations of 
the City, make recommendations to the Council, 
prepare and observe the municipal budget, appoint 
and supervise all City department heads and 
employees, and supervise the operation of all City 
departments. The city manager is responsible for 
implementing policies adopted by the City Council, 
preparing and submitting the annual budget, and 
administering the day-to-day operations of the 
City.

Like most cities in California, Sierra Madre is a 
general law city run under the “council-manager” 
form of government. A general law city is one which 
operates under laws and rules established by the 
State of California. The council-manager form of 
government is similar to that of a private company’s 
board of directors and CEO. The council-manager 
form is the system of local government that 
combines the strong political leadership of elected 
officials in the form of a council or other governing 
body, with the strong managerial experience of 
an appointed local government manager. This 
establishes a representative system where all power 
is concentrated in the elected council who then 
hires a professionally trained manager to oversee 
the delivery of public services."

In addition, the person who is selected must be 
able to work with the citizens of Sierra Madre, 
thus the council wishes to hear from you1

The importance of selecting the person who 
is qualified to fill the position cannot be 
understated, as the next City Manager will 
have to immediately fill 3 key positions, The 
Director of Public Safety (Police Chief), The 
Director of Public Works, and the Assistant City 
Manager. Anyone interested in sharing their 
views on the selection of the individual and/
or on the process for selection, should come to 
council meeting on October 11, 2016 at 6:30 pm
. MVNews

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com