Cycle’s Seizure Draws Councilman’s Ire

Pasadena City Councilman Isaac Richard threatened the job of a police lieutenant who impounded Richard’s motorcycle for an expired registration, police officials said Wednesday.

Police officers on routine patrol seized Richard’s 1976 Honda from the sidewalk in front of his house because its registration had expired, said Pasadena Police Chief Jerry Oliver.

Later, by telephone, Richard “sort of threatened” the lieutenant’s job, Oliver said. “He indicated to one of our lieutenants that this was a career-limiting move to have seized his (Richard’s) vehicle,” Oliver said.

Richard could not be reached for comment. But Devere Joe, his field representative, said the councilman had not used the motorcycle since last year.

“What is this--pick on Isaac month?” asked Joe, adding that more than 20 constituents had called in support of their councilman since the story was published in a local newspaper Wednesday.

Department of Motor Vehicles records indicate that the registration on the motorcycle expired in 1987; the registration on Richard’s 1966 Mercury convertible expired in 1989, and the councilman’s driver’s license lapsed more than a year ago.

After issuing a warning, police released the motorcycle to Richard a day or so after it had been seized, Oliver said.

“It’s what we would do with any citizen,” Oliver said. “The issue for us is voluntary compliance, obviously.”

Joe said the councilman often uses public transportation or gets rides from friends and associates.

“He hasn’t driven the car in several months,” she said. “Basically, the motorcycle sits in front of his house.”

Oliver said that, after the incident, he sent a memo to City Manager Philip Hawkey, informing him that a City Council member could “wind up being cited or arrested, as the circumstances called for.”

The police chief said he had informed Richard that he would be treated as any other citizen.

Oliver dismissed the alleged threat to his lieutenant as words spoken in momentary anger.

“We all understand that sometimes an angered or misdirected statement like that has no real impact,” Oliver said.