Pasadena police release body-cam footage of school custodian temporarily detained
Newly released body-cam footage showed the moments Pasadena Police officers entered San Rafael Elementary Sunday, confronted the school's custodian and temporarily detained him.
Both police and officials with the city conducted an internal review and concluded that officers acted appropriately and that the custodian was cooperative.
Meanwhile, some parents think the incident was somewhat excessive.
It was a call to 911 that set the incident in motion.
"I just saw somebody scaling a fence of the San Rafael school. They were carrying a backpack and a bag," the caller can be heard saying.
While no one has been able to verify if he hopped a fence or not, the school's custodian of 14 years was fully uniformed and, according to one teacher, had his keys on him. Police handcuffed him while they made sure no one else was in the school.
The custodian was there at the request of the school's principal, who wanted the campus cleaned before the start of the school week.
In a statement, Pasadena City Manager Cynthia Kurtz, said in part:
"Officers questioned him and per protocol, handcuffed him for approximately 6 1/2 minutes until they could verify that he was a PUSD employee with permission to be on a closed campus. The PUSD employee was not "proned out", and the handcuffing was carried out by a female Police Officer quietly and respectfully. The PUSD employee was likewise polite and cooperative."
Helene Ma, a parent at the school, told CBSLA that she didn't think anyone with their uniform and badge should've been "brought into question" like that.
Other parents who spoke to CBSLA agreed.
"Not surprising, infuriating," one parent said.
"It was totally unnecessary. I think that police officers were a little too aggressive," another said.
Initial reports from faculty and parents stated officers held the custodian at gunpoint with long guns. The city manager, however, said they were non-lethal weapons use a projectile foam designed to stun and not injure.
"Especially these days, we need to be vigilant of our school grounds and verify, when called, that only authorized personnel have access to school grounds whether the schools are closed or open," the city manager's statement added.
San Rafael's principal told parents, on a Monday night Zoom call, that they were thinking about putting together a town hall type event to bring the school and neighbors together, so this type of thing doesn't happen again.
Full statements by Pasadena City Manager Cynthia Kurtz, as well as from Interim Pasadena Police Chief Jason Clawson can be read below:
Kurtz's full statement reads:
"The City of Pasadena holds itself to the highest standards in protecting the safety of our residents and schools as well as in the way we treat anyone we encounter. We received a call on Sunday morning informing us that someone with a backpack had climbed over the San Rafael Elementary School fence, and officers were dispatched to see if there was a break-in underway. At the subsequent request of PUSD Superintendent Dr. Brian McDonald, we have reviewed the City response to determine whether a PUSD employee was mistreated in the response to the call.
We have made public the tape of this call for service. The caller is concerned, but not inflammatory, and there are no racial overtones to the call. The Police Officers responding to the call found the campus gate was locked, but the door to the school was visibly open. One person was observed inside the school, dressed in black shorts, a white t-shirt and an open blue outer-shirt. Officers questioned him and per protocol, handcuffed him for approximately 6 1/2 minutes until they could verify that he was a PUSD employee with permission to be on a closed campus. The PUSD employee was not "proned out", and the handcuffing was carried out by a female Police Officer quietly and respectfully. The PUSD employee was likewise polite and cooperative.
It should be noted that the long arms which were carried by the Police Officers in this response are non-lethal and use a projectile made of foam, designed to stun and not injure. This was not a SWAT or military type response in any manner.
We have reviewed the camera video from the Pasadena officers and from the PUSD Metro security officers who responded. Our review has concluded that everyone conducted themselves in a professional way and consistent with City of Pasadena and Police Department policies.
We value our partnership with the Pasadena Unified School District and it is our responsibility to protect their students, assets and property. Especially these days, we need to be vigilant of our school grounds and verify, when called, that only authorized personnel have access to school grounds whether the schools are closed or open. We are working closely with Metro Security, who is PUSD's contractor, and appreciate their assistance and support through all of this. Because of the technology available to us, you may review the encounter with the employee yourself and make your own determination about what happened."
Pasadena Interim Police Chief Jason Clawson's full statement reads:
"Once I was made aware of the incident by Superintendent Brian McDonald, I immediately initiated an internal review so we could present the facts to the community. Our job is to approach a situation based on the information provided to us in the initial call to our dispatch center. Our officers received that information and conducted themselves in a professional and polite manner as I'd expect from our entire department. The custodian was detained, cooperated and understood the process the officers had to go through to validate that he was permitted to be on a closed school campus."
