COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pg 9 Thursday, January 11 - January 17, 2018
Local. Relevant. Trusted.
Since 1996
VOLUME 22, NO. 2
BRUTAL BEATING OF BALLEW SEARS ITSELF AS PASADENA’S ‘RODNEY KING MOMENT’ Gus HERRERA gherrera@beaconmedianews.com
D
ozens of enraged citizens recently packed the city council chambers as the outrage over a video showing 21-year-old Chris Ballew brutally beaten by Pasadena police came to a vicious boil. The footage, captured on Nov. 9, 2017 at an Altadena gas station, shows officers Lerry Esparza and Zachary Lujan quickly escalating a questionable traffic stop into a brutal beatdown in which Ballew was repeatedly punched, slammed to the concrete pavement, and hammered so ruthlessly with a baton that the weapon was seen visibly bent and unable to be sheathed at the conclusion of one the body-cam videos. Ballew, who was himself seated in the second row of the audience during council’s first meeting of the year, was approached by Pasadena police as he was walking to the gas station mini-mart for having tinted windows and no front license plate on his white Mercedes-Benz. The inhumane treatment that followed and allegedly resulted in a broken leg for the 21-year-old, is currently under investigation. Ballew also reportedly lost his work
Christopher Ballew, whose leg was broken by Pasadena police during a November arrest, speaks to the press as he prepares to file a lawsuit at the Law Offices of John Burton in Pasadena, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2017. – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
as an assistant director at a marketing firm following the incident. The two officers involved remain on the job. For almost two hours emotions ran high as representatives from various
organizations, including the NAACP, ACLU, Pasadenans and Altadenans Against Violence, San Gabriel Valley Progressive Alliance, Black Lives Matter, and more called for justice during the council
Grant Writing Workshop in Sierra Madre Reserve your spot for a free grantwriting workshop on Saturday, January 20th, 2018 from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm at the Sierra Madre Public Library. The interactive workshop for teachers, artists, nonprofits and others will help you to learn how to get grants for community projects, school programs, and nonprofit organizations. Seating is limited, so
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Chef Carmen’s 3 C’s: Cakes, Catering and Consulting
register online at www.TheGrantbuilder. com This workshop provides an overview of how to find grants available from government, foundations, and corporate funders. The workshop will be presented by LaQuetta Shamblee, M.B.A., and SEE WORKSHOP PAGE 11
meeting’s public comment portion. It must have seemed like déjà vu for many local activists in attendance, as many of the same faces crammed into the council chambers just over
times. The coroner’s report and investigation report for this case have yet to be released. Four years prior, in 2012, SEE BALLEW PAGE 10
COMMUNITY INVITED TO PASADENA MAYOR’S STATE OF THE CITY EVENT The public is invited to attend Mayor Terry Tornek’s State of the City address Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, at the Pasadena Unified School District’s John Marshall Fundamental School Gymnasium, 999 N. Allen Ave. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Mayor’s formal program begins at 7 p.m. Mayor Tornek will deliver his annual State of the City message with a review of
the City’s finances, as well as updates on several issues about the City’s economy and the status of the Arroyo Seco area. A brief Q-and-A with the audience traditionally follows. Vice Mayor John J. Kennedy will serve as emcee for the evening and students SEE EVENT PAGE 11
SPORTS
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Pasadena Showing ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Page 14
a year ago, in October 2016, following the controversial in-custody death of Reginald Thomas – an African-American male who died following a struggle with Pasadena PD, in which he was tased three
Page 7
Santa Anita Park One of America’s Popular Horse Racing Venues
Page 18