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PASADENA EDITION SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2018 VOLUME 12 NO. 14 Police Still Looking for Bomber Police Officers Cleared in Death of Reginald Thomas The Justice System Integrity Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office (LACDAO) has completed its review of the September 30, 2016 in- custody death of Reginald Thomas and has concluded that Pasadena Police Department Officers used reasonable force in subduing Thomas. No further action will be taken by the District Attorney’s Office. “We want to thank the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for their comprehensive work and for their commitment to finding the truth in this matter,” said City Manager Steve Mermell. ““The loss of Reginald Thomas’ life is tragic but the District Attorney’s review concludes that the responding Pasadena Police Officers acted within reason and their use of force was lawful.” The LACDAO conclusions were based on investigative reports, witness statements, audio recordings, photographs, video, 9-1-1 recordings and the autopsy report generated by the Los Angeles County Coroner. It also included a review of the compelled witness statements of all of the Pasadena Police Officers who were a part of the incident. The memorandum issued to the City by the District Attorney’s Office, reveals “that the officers began by simply asking Thomas to drop his weapons and allow them to enter the residence. Thomas refused and began actively and physically resisting the officers’ lawful efforts. The officers resorted to more forcible measures only after other means, including the Taser, proved ineffective. Their escalation of force was in direct response to Thomas’ escalating combative resistance. Further, the Taser deployments and baton strikes, manual strikes, kicks and restraint methods were a reasonable response to Thomas’ escalating and continued resistance.” The Coroner’s examination of Thomas concluded that the manner of death was undetermined, but the District Attorney’s Office concluded that “all the force used by the officers appears to have been reasonable under the circumstances. Thus, even if the officers’ use of force contributed to Thomas’ death, their use of force was not unlawful.” The District Attorney’s office will be making a public version of their memo available on their website at a later date. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is still looking for the individual, over a year later, believed to be responsible for an explosion at The Cheesecake Factory on Colorado Blvd.. in Pasadena Agents turned to twitter Thursday releasing photos of the 6 foot tall man with dark hair with a beard waking down an aisle at a nearby Ralph’s. Police said he discarded a jacket in a trash can outside the market. Reports of newly released surveillance video shows the suspect walking blocks away into the Parson’s parking lot and then walking back towards The Cheesecake Factory. Authorities say they want the man caught so he does not try and do the same thing, possibly at a larger, more crowed, event. According to Police Lt. Art Chute, at the time last year, officers responded shortly after 6 p.m. February 2, 2017 to the Cheesecake Factory located at 2 West Colorado Blvd. Witnesses said a man opened the front doors, lit and threw a round object inside landing near the bar area. Some witness said the object landed under a table, exploded, and then poured heavy smoke. Police Lt. Vasken Gourdikian, Friday called the object a “glorified firecracker” saying the situation was most likely a prank. Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek also told reporters the object was more like a firecracker than a bomb. Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call Pasadena Police at 626- 744-4241 or you may report information anonymously at lacrimestoppers.com (insert key word Pasadena). By Dean Lee Residents of Pasadena, Alatdena and Sierra Madre got together Wednesday night for the second of a series of neighborhood summits discussing topics that ranged from public safety to sustainability to using nexdoor.com. Collaborate PASadena event organizer, Brian Biery, said the goal, “To inspire people to action, its also to increase their knowledge of what activities are going on around them, and its also to give them ideas of how they can take action in their neighborhoods and bridge relationships...” He said the meetings were also focused on people ingenuity and hard work. “I was surprised at the turnout,” Biery said. “We had over 90 people here, everyone was engaged and everyone had a priority there were working on.” Sierra Madre Energy, Environment. & Natural Resources Commissioner Carolyn Dasher said she wanted to bring the repair café idea to Sierra Madre. “What a wonderful way to help your community, and to do zero waste and sustainability she said. “We are such a throw-away society and it shouldn’t be.” The idea is simple, someone in a community has something broken, like a lamp, and someone else knows how to fix it. A day and place is set aside for the repair café. “If your thinking about how to change our economy, how we pay for things, earn money, what our priories economially, then you want somebody who has been doing it.” Biery said. One of the moderators had done over 40 repair cafés “so it’s a tested model” he said. A meeting Sept. 18 in Pasadena at La Casita del Arroyo had a similar focus, learning and building trust. “Our goal was always to do three of these [summits], one in Pasadena, one in Altadena and one in Sierra Madre,” Biery said. He said their next goal is to engage people in Sierra Madre. “We really want to reach out to neighborhood watch groups.” Dasher also said she wanted to reach out to other commissioners to see how they could do a similar collaborative. Biery said a Sierra Madre meeting would likely be in fall. For more information visit: collaboratepasadena.org. Meeting Looks at Regional Strengths and Priorities Altadena Library Citizenship Classes Every Tuesday at 6:00pm, through May 22, the Altadena Library Bob Lucas Branch is offering free civics classes to prepare for the U.S. citizenship exam, in partnership with the San Gabriel Valley Literacy Council. Call 626-798-0833 x102 to register. Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast PWP Offers $5,000 Scholarship PWP is accepting applications for its annual Educational Scholarship. One high school senior from Pasadena will be chosen to receive a $5,000 scholarship toward college expenses. The program is open to students from both public and private schools. To apply, students must submit an application, academic transcripts, and write an essay on the topic of sustainability. Applicants must live within PWP’s service territory, be currently enrolled as a high school senior in the City of Pasadena, and provide proof of acceptance for the 2018-19 school year at an accredited two-year or four-year post- secondary institution. The deadline to submit an application is May 11, 2018. To learn more, visit PWPweb. com/Scholarship. CALENDAR Pg. 2 Join community members, Pasadena residents, civic, business, student and educational leaders, and the interfaith community for the 45th annual Pasadena Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, “Mending the Hearts and Minds of Our Youth.” Hosted by Friends In Deed, the breakfast will be held Thursday, May 3 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green Street. Niki Elliott, Ph.D., Co-Director, Center for Neurodiversity, Learning and Wellness, University of La Verne will be the keynote speaker. Tickets are available at FriendsIndeedPas.org. MORE PASADENA NEWS Pg. 3 SAN MARINO/SO. PAS Pg. 4 SIERRA MADRE Pg. 5 ARCADIA Pg. 6 MONROVIA EDUCATION/YOUTH Pg. 7 FOOD & DRINK Pg. 8 THE GOOD LIFE Pg. 9 WORLD AROUND US Pg. 10 BEST FRIENDS Pg. 11 SECTION B: AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEYB1 THE ARTS B2 BUSINESS NEWS B3 OPINIONB4 LEGAL NOTICES B5 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Mountain Views News 80 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. #327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.604.4548 www.mtnviewsnews.com |