Resident alleges lack of transparent accounting for multiple in‑custody deaths; names city officials
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Summary
At the Dec. 16 council meeting Eric Sanchez listed five deaths dating back decades and said the city has not provided a comprehensive public accounting; he named Chief Jackson and alleged repeated failures to collect or preserve evidence.
During public comment at the Dec. 16 Pasadena City Council meeting, Eric Sanchez said the city had not provided a “comprehensive, transparent accounting” for multiple deaths found in jail or in custody over the past 30 years and urged scrutiny of how investigations were handled.
Sanchez listed five people he said were found hanging or dead in custody across several decades and said Chief Jackson was present for many of those years. “Despite the severity and the repetition of these incidents, the city has never provided a comprehensive, transparent accounting,” Sanchez said. He questioned how the city repeatedly failed to collect or preserve critical evidence and named Johnny Isbell and Jeff King in alleging personnel decisions that, he said, compounded public concern.
Separately, Steven Alvarez said he kneels as a protest to call for equality and to signal concern about what he described as abuse of power and intimidation. Alvarez framed his action as exercising his right to free speech and recounted family circumstances that motivated his protest.
The statements in public comment were not followed by formal council action in the transcript. No responses or investigations were recorded on the public record during the meeting minutes included in the transcript.
