Block to Give Decision on Pasadena Duty Today

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block met Tuesday with Pasadena officials in an effort to resolve a dispute that threatens to keep sheriff’s deputies from providing security at the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game.

Block said he would announce today whether deputies will assist Pasadena police officers at the New Year’s Day events. The sheriff last week had refused to allow deputies to participate unless the Pasadena City Council apologized for what Block said were suggestions that his department tolerated deputies who are “Neo-Nazis” or “white supremacists.”

The City Council had asked that such deputies not be allowed to work the New Year’s Day events. The council issued a carefully worded apology Monday, but the sheriff declined to say whether it was adequate. Meanwhile, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday urged Block to settle his differences with the Pasadena council “in the interest of peace and order.”