Story by Sofia Alva Staff Writer Photo by Oscar Walsh Staff Photographer Local activist groups Care First South Pasadena, Black Lives Matter (BLM) South Pasadena, the Anti Racism Committee, and the South Pasadena Tenants Union are calling on the City Council to commission a third-party investigation into the SPPD due to alleged bias against women, people of […]
Local BLM group ends almost 150 days of protesting
Story and Photo by Georgia Parsons Staff Writer Community members gathered at the intersection of Fair Oaks Avenue and Mission Street on Saturday, Oct. 31 to celebrate the last of Black Lives Matter (BLM) South Pasadena’s nearly 150 days of protests. Towards the beginning of the protests in June, individuals met nearly every day from 12:00 […]
Residents question SPPD’s ties to anti-LGBTQ+ hate group
Story by Sofia Alva Staff Writer Photo by Tony Chen Contributor Community members are calling for an investigation into the SPPD for its planned public prayer event with an anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ+ hate group that was set to be held at City Hall on Saturday, Sept. 26. Police Chief Joe Ortiz sent an email (attached below) […]
SPHS campus resource officer position draws criticism
Story by Katie HohmanStaff Writer Photo by Helena FuContributor Having police officers on campus has become a largely unquestioned part of a student’s life, but with recent calls to defund police across the nation, more students are pushing to eliminate their School Resource Officer (SRO) and to reallocate funds towards mental health resources. In South […]
SPPD’s arrest of a crime suspect draws community criticism for excessive force
Story by Lilian Zhu Staff Writer Photo courtesy of South Pasadena Youth For Police Reform Contributor The SPPD forcibly detained a middle-aged Black man on charges of assault and robbery in front of city hall on Tuesday, June 23. The police watch commander reported that the person had assaulted an individual and stolen their phone, […]
City council to vote on establishing a community policing sub-committee
Story by Noah Kuhn News Editor Photo by Richard Gomez Contributor The South Pasadena City Council will vote on whether to appoint a council sub-committee on the future of policing in South Pasadena at a special meeting on Wednesday, June 24. The sub-committee would collect data on SPPD practices and study the effects of city laws […]
Why SPPD needs to be defunded
Story by Quinn ManzoStaff Writer Illustration by Tarry SongStaff Illustrator Anger over police brutality has reignited following the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Protesters are enraged over the continued killings of Black Americans at the hands of police and the racist system that refuses to hold officers accountable, with local residents now taking […]
City budget falls under intense scrutiny
Story by Sofia Alva Staff Writer Photo by Katelyn Hernandez Staff Photographer The City Council discussed and reviewed the draft budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 at its meeting on Wednesday, June 10. Multiple parties criticized the City for its lack of accountability in creating a sustainable budget, in addition to calling for SPPD to be […]
Community assembles in front of City Hall, pressures City Council to reform SPPD
Story by Lilian Zhu Staff Writer Photos by Oscar Walsh & Preston Sharkey Staff Photographer & Contributor South Pasadena Youth For Police Reform (SPY4PR) organized a City Hall protest calling for the City Council to significantly reform the SPPD, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10. Over a hundred residents congregated outside the chambers where local leaders engaged […]