1985 - 1987
My father was a Reserve Police Officer with the Pasadena Police Department and I used to tag along with him around the station. By the time I was eight I had seen my first dead guy and gone on my first “Code 3” run in a police car; plus I got to know a lot of officers.
Through a series of events I ended up at Arizona State University in the fall of 1984 as a Photography major.
While in Tamarra Kaida’s class I needed a documentary project to photograph during spring break. Somehow the idea of photographing the Pasadena Police Department came up and my dad made the arrangements.
Northwest Pasadena in the mid 1980’s was crazy, lots of rock cocaine and gangs. I saw plenty right out of the gate and got some decent images. I shared the images with Bill Jenkins who suggested I put a wide angle lens on my camera which would force me to move closer to my subject matter; the result was huge.
I continued the series during summer and ended up becoming a technical reserve working in the photo lab during the day then photographing on the street at night. The supervisors all knew me from when I was kid and I soon built some rapport with the newer officers. Very quickly I was allowed almost unlimited access. I spent over 1,000 hours on the street photographing.
Before I graduated I had decided to become a Police Officer. From doing this series I found I liked the job and I realized the schedule would allow me plenty of time to continue photographing. I didn’t want to be a press photographer where I had no control, or ownership, of my images.
I worked at the Chino Police Department for 20 years before being retired medically in 2008. I worked mostly Patrol but I also was Detective for almost four years. I continued photographing law enforcement while at Chino but in a more limited capacity because of my job duties. In 2022 I began photographing the Chino Police Department again in an attempt to document all the changes in society and the viewpoint of our criminal justice system. That project is ongoing.
In the simplest of terms these photographs document Pasadena PD, in the 1980’s, from an officers’ perspective.
All Images - © 1985 – 1987 William Karl Valentine
Disclaimer - The images in this series document specific moments in time and the descriptions accompanying these images are solely meant to help the viewer understand the situation. Individuals pictured may not have been charged with a crime and for those arrested their conviction status is unknown. You should not assume that any individuals pictured were convicted of any crimes.
