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