Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, December 3, 2022

Mountain View News Saturday, September 10, 20228 Mountain View News Saturday, September 10, 20228 
THE PASADENA COMMUNITY POLICE ACADEMY IS WAITING FOR YOU! 

By Kellie Strubinski 

I graduated from the Fall Session of the Pasadena 
Community Police Academy on November 2nd, 
2022. It is a bi-annual, 8 week program that gives 
you an "up close and personal" view of every unit 
within the Pasadena Police Department. You 
might ask, "Why would anyone want to sign up 
for that?!". Let me tell you why you need to get 
on their wait list for their Spring 2023 Academy. 

I was surprised to meet so many officers in every 
dept/unit that were so dedicated, brave and 
passionate about what they do. They all want 
to keep you, your families, your businesses and 
your property safe. They work tirelessly together 
and sometimes alone to cover every possible 
thing that can go wrong in this city. You would 
be surprised to hear just how many things do go 
wrong in a day in Pasadena, some more dangerous 
than others. 

These officers are away from their families for 
long hours, risking their own safety, working on 
shifts that are unpredictable from day to day. 

I did a four plus hour ride along with one of the 
officers. Before we left, I thought I was going 
to throw up. The first place we went was to the 
scene of a murder that had taken place the night 
before. I heard about it in the shift briefing before 
my "ride along" and was glad that the officers 
already had discovered surveillance footage. It 
would only be a matter of time before the killer 
was behind bars. By the time I did my ride along, 
I had already heard from the Homicide Unit Officers 
during class and I knew how efficient they 
were at using every possible resource, including 
your tips, to apprehend killers. Their success rate 
is over 90% due to their dedication and unrelenting 
efforts to comb through information to get to 
the truth and locate their perpetrators. 

On my ride along, we went to one call after another, 
each one completely different from the call 
before. My officer was always calm and cool and 
assessed each situation quickly. He responded 
with admirable de-escalation techniques. I knew 
this was no small feat as one of our Academy 
classes was dedicated to role playing. The entire 
role playing evening, my classmates, including 
myself, hand cuffed and shot up innocent "ac


tors" as we all got overwhelmed 
with scenarios that played out 
quickly, often dangerously with 
out of control emotions causing 
people to behave in unpredictable 
ways. After that evening, my 
respect for officers skyrocketed. 
Their ability to read a situation 
quickly, determine who is who, 
respond with the correct amount 
of force at the right time while 
keeping their own emotions in 
check is nothing short of amazing. 
This does not come natural. 
The level of training these officers 
go through (in a variety of 
areas) would surprise you. 

Another class was at the shooting 
range, where not only did 
we get to shoot a variety of guns, 
but we got to act out electronic 
scenarios with electronic guns 
(think life size video games) on a 
big screen. Me and my classmate 
"partner" got shot so many times 
that we were glad we still had our 
real jobs. Our inability to assess 
potential dangerous situations 
quickly and accurately cost us. 
Then we started shooting innocent 
"electronic" people trying to 
keep from getting ourselves killed because we 
started over compensating in our attempts to not 
get killed. Our anxiety got the best of us. 

I'd love to go into all of the interesting details that 
every department shared with my class, but this 
article would never end. Some of my favorites, 
The Air Ops Unit with their infrared lights, camaras 
and three minute response time, made me 
proud. 

The Special Investigation unit is working bravely, 
tirelessly to get drugs off the streets and away 
from our kids. Fentenyl is pernicious and now 
comes in candy colored tablets that they work 
hard to irradicate. I was proud to hear of their 
brave successes. 

The Defensive Tactics unit has focusd on Jujitsu 
training for 15+ years. It means the "Gentle Art" 


in Japanese. This style of martial arts enables officers 
to apprehend suspects with minimal injury 
to the suspect while improving the time it takes 
to get the suspect under control. 

The Fraud/Stolen Identity unit never ceased to 
fascinate me. Perpertrators purchase machines 
off of Amazon inexpensively that enable them 
to recreate credit cards. The success rate with 
which perpertrators convince Pasadena Citizens 
to relinquish thousands of dollars to expunge 
non existant warrant(s). To this I say "Don't 
sent money/crypto currency to anyone without 
checking with the police first.". 

Records, Admin Services, Communications, 
Special Victims Unit, Forensics, Neighborhood 
Services, Burglary, Dispatch, PAL, Traffic (Motorbikes), 
Hope, Jail, Crime Stoppers, Event Planning/
Security, Counter Terrorism and the K9 

Units all deserve a big shout out as well. Each unit 
has a lot to share about their progressive policies, 
dedicated officers and their individual strategies 
for working together to make an overall organization 
that works efficiently for you and this city. 
This is all done with a shortage of officers on a 
tight budget. 

I encourage you to sign up for this program and 
get to know the people that are working tirelessly 
to keep you and those dear to you safe. You won't 
regret it. Apart from it being incredibly informative, 
they also make it a lot of fun. Their good 
hearted banter and commraderie is infectuous. 
If anything you will walk away highly informed 
about this great city, and proud to know that you 
are protected by a fine group of officers dedicated 
to you and your safety. 

Peter Dills Knows 
A NOISE WITHIN OFFERS SENSORY-FRIENDLY, 
‘RELAXED’ PERFORMANCE OF ‘A CHRISTMAS 

IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE CHRISTMAS !! 

CAROL’ FOR AUDIENCES WITH AUTISM, PTSD, 

IT’S TIME FOR BUBBLES ALZHEIMERS 

OK, this kicks off my Holiday Bubbly series! When most of us 
think of Domestic Wines we tend to go to California first, and 
why not, we have many wonderful regions of wine produc-

A Noise Within adds extra joy to the holiday season with a special, 

ing areas; Temecula, Santa Barbara, Central Coast to name a 

sensory-friendly, “relaxed” performance of its beloved production of A 

few, but for me it’s the Napa Valley. First let me remind you 

Christmas Carol on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 11 a.m. 

that Champagne is a region in France and only those wines 
produced it that area can be called “Champagne”. Although, 

Relaxed performances provide an inviting environment for those living with autism spec-

the wines of Napa Valley are usually produced using the same 

trum disorder, developmental delay, neuromuscular disorder, sensory integrative dysfunc


“methods” as our friends in France. I have one Sparkling wine 

tion, attention deficit disorder, or any other disorder of social interaction and communi


worthy of starting our Holiday Series: Mumm Napa Prestige. 

cation. All the quality production values audiences expect from A Noise Within are still 
in place, with light and sound levels adjusted to create a sensory-friendly environment for 

Mumm Napa Prestige is a blend of grapes combining 45% 

all attending. The performance will feature a shorter run time; freedom to talk and move 

Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and a small amount of Gris and 

around the theater during the performance; reduced lighting and sound effects; designated 

Meunier grapes, all out-sourced exclusively from Napa area 

activity/relaxation spaces for those who need a break; and trained staff available to assist 

Vineyards. However, don’t let the term “out-source” make you 

patrons throughout the event. 

hesitant to try it! Most recently, many popular wines that you 
purchase now “out-source” some juice to ensure the right fla


“We call it a hush-free performance,” explains A Noise Within director of education and 

vor, and then blend during the winter. 

community outreach Alicia Green. “We keep the audience small, and people can come 
and go as they want. We’ve created a ‘social story’ that audiences can view ahead of time: 

Sparkling Wines and Champagnes have long been a favorite in the Dills’ household, many 

a highly detailed explanation that leads you through exactly what’s going to happen every 

people believe that Bubbles are for a special occasion, my feeling is everyday is that occa


single step of the way, from the minute you park to when you walk up the sidewalk to get 

sion! Mumm Napa goes wonderful with Salmon, Oysters, BBQ’d or grilled chicken, but 

your tickets, to where the stairs are, and the bathroom, and where you can sit, so you feel 

for this tasting, I had fresh sourdough bread and butter! Enjoy with a Champagne flute 

confident coming in. House lights are kept on throughout the performance to allow for 

and watch the bubbles flow from bottom to the top with light-speed. I mentioned last week 

easy movement around the theater. We’ve created a quiet area that’s a soft, cozy, comfort-

that many supermarkets are having sales on wines, check out the Vons on Sierra Madre for 

ing little cave where anyone can go if they need to leave during the performance. We have 

their version of a 30 % off sale. 

fidget spinners and drums available, or you can bring your own devices.” 

Dills Score 

For more information about the “Relaxed Performance” of A Christmas Carol on Saturday, 
Dec. 10 at 11 a.m. at A Noise Within, including to view the “social story” and an 

We start with a base of 50. I have added a 10 for color, 7 for the aroma or “nose” 10 for the 

instructional video about how staff are trained, go to https://www.anoisewithin.org/ 

taste and an 11 for my overall impression including value. With any Sparkling Wine or 

relaxed-performances. 

Champagne there isn’t much time to swirl, but often when you are at a fine dining establishment 
they will let you taste before you proceed with the bottle. Dills’ tip, if there is that 
distinctive *pop* when opened, combined with lively effervescent action including plenty 
of bubbles and the cork expands, it’s good to drink! 

Dills Score 88. 
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