LOS ANGELES — When Principal Rudy Ramirez learned that his Pasadena elementary school's head custodian had been detained Sunday by police investigating reports of a possible burglar, he raced to campus feeling upset and scared for his employee's life, he said.
At the scene — and, unbeknownst to him, in the view of a security officer's body camera — he focused his ire on neighbors and parents in the predominantly white, affluent community, using expletives to describe them and leveling accusations of racism, according to video footage and a written report released by the Pasadena Police Department and city manager's office as part of their review of the incident.
On Thursday, Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo issued a strong rebuke of the principal, criticizing him for making "derogatory racial remarks" about parents and community members.
