Pasadena City Releases Videos of Officers’ Body Worn Camera and Dash Cam Regarding Beating Incident

Courtesy photo

As a result of public pressure, the City of Pasadena Has just released the videos of the violent beating  that took place Nov. 9 involving a suspect who had his leg broken by repeated baton hits from two Pasadena Police officers:

At Monday’s council meeting the victim’s mother and next door neighbor gave some testimony during public comment, in addition to a couple of other residents.

The next door neighbor actually brought still shots of the video to show to the council – he especially focused on when one officer wound up his baton like a baseball bat and smashed the victim’s back when he was already in fetal position. He described the victim as a “great kid” and talked about how his kids played with him growing up.

Another speaker described the victim’s only crime as being “black and driving a Mercedes.”

The mother wanted the council to understand who they were as a family – they have been residents of Altadena for over 20 years (the mother, an electrical engineer, is originally from Compton and graduated from UC Santa Barbara). She worked for ATT and Kaiser Children’s Hospital before becoming a minister – she says she received a “higher calling.” Mother said she has raised her son with the same core values – emphasizing family-first and showing respect.

Ballew’s mother thanked the Pasadena police for their service but called out “a couple of people on the force who do not represent the core values … Pasadena stands for.”

She said she is in “utter shock” and “completely appalled” especially having to hear the screams of her son crying in pain. She called for action and said “we have to stop the violence on our youth.” Her testimony was met with applause from the packed audience.

Here are the videos which are posted now on the city’s website

https://ww5.cityofpasadena.net/city-manager/public-affairs/november-9-2017-incident-videos/

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