The Coalition for Increased Civilian Oversight of Pasadena Police (CICOPP) is sponsoring a community forum titled “21st Century Policing: Community Oversight for Maximum Transparency and Accountability.” CICOPP has been calling on the City Council for the past year to establish an Independent Police Auditor to oversee the Pasadena Police.
The community forum will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015, at 7 p.m. in Travis Auditorium on the Fuller Seminary Campus. The Auditorium is located on the first floor of the School of Psychology located at the corner of Walnut and Oakland. The building parking lot can be accessed from Madison just south of Walnut.
The issue of independent police oversight has been a controversial topic in the community since the Pasadena police killing of unarmed teenager Kendrec McDade in March, 2012. Both the Pasadena City Administration and the Pasadena Police officers union have fought in the courts to prevent the release of the Sheriff’s Department Office of Independent Review report of the incident. The State Appellate recently ruled that the report should be released. Kris Ockershauser, speaking for CICOPP has called the September 11 appellate court decision on the release of the McDade shooting Report “the most powerful argument yet for a Pasadena Independent Police Auditor (‘IPA’) that could bring to a close the McDade shooting scandal with a positive reform.”
The Keynote speaker will be Dr. Samuel Walker, Emeritus Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Dr. Walker is a nationally recognized expert on police accountability, and the author of 13 books and dozens of articles. His most recent book, The New World of Police Accountability (2005) examines “best practices,” including state of the art policies on the use of force, an early intervention system and a customer friendly complaint system. Additionally, his book, Police Accountability: The Role of Citizen Oversight (2001) is considered one of the most comprehensive studies available.
Dr. Walker’s most recent articles address the issues of independent citizen oversight of the police, police accountability, mediation of citizen complaints, sustaining police reforms, and internal benchmarking for racial profiling.
The event will be moderated by Larry Wilson, Pasadena Star-News Public Editor. Wilson will facilitate the discussion between a community panel, Dr. Walker, and those in attendance. The community panel who will respond to Walker’s presentation includes:
-Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek will be joined on stage by the three other individuals to respond and discuss whether or not Pasadena should have an independent police auditor.
-Stella Murga, Founder and Executive Director of Adelante Youth Alliance (AYA), a community-based nonprofit organization established to prepare youth for college and careers. AYA produces two annual college and career conferences, Adelante Mujer Latina and Adelante Young Men, focusing on inspiring girls and boys to dream big, achieve higher education and career goals. Both have become the largest conferences of their kind in the State.
-Mr. Gary Moody, President of the Greater Pasadena branch of the NAACP, has served as Chief Executive Officer of the Crown Cities Community Development Corporation, moderator of the Black Male Forum of Pasadena and Altadena. He also serves on several committee and advisory groups including the YWCA Justice Committee, Day One Community Coalition, and Altadena Stakeholders Taskforce.
-Rev. Kerwin L. Manning is President of the Pasadena Clergy Community Coalition a group of Pasadena civic leaders, non-profit directors and community members who work together to bridge divides in the community. He also the senior Pastor of Pasadena Church. He has served in various leadership roles within the church and is a widely respected and sought after minister to youth and young adults.
