Residents use public comment to allege police and city misconduct; council hears calls for records and decorum

Several residents used the June 17 public-comment period to air allegations of misconduct by city officials and members of the Pasadena Police Department and to call for remedies.

Steven Alvarez accused members of the prior administration and others of what he called corruption and harassment. Addressing the council, Alvarez said, “little Jeffrey Wagner, did not show up tonight as the coward that he is,” and named local figures while urging removal of what he described as “hatred” from the city. Alvarez’s remarks included forceful personal claims and criticism of named current and former officials.

Eric Sanchez described a separate, detailed account of a 2017 traffic stop and subsequent records he says contain inaccuracies. Sanchez said, “Almost every record I've received has been amended, incomplete, or full of lies,” and accused officers he named in his remarks of falsifying or recycling affidavits, failing to activate cameras and irregularities in the handling of blood-draw paperwork. Sanchez asked the council to address the record-keeping and alleged misconduct and requested release of certain records to test his claims.

Ralph Morrissey, who also spoke during public comment, urged citizens to use the forum for facts and solutions and cautioned against name-calling. Morrissey said the public-comment platform “is not a platform for debate” and asked speakers to avoid “mud-slinging” and baseless accusations.

These statements were delivered during the public-comment portion of the meeting. Council members did not respond on the record during the public-comment time in the transcript excerpt; the remarks were presented to the council for consideration and potential follow-up under the city’s normal processes for handling public complaints and records requests.