Police Upset at Decision on Noisy Party : South Pasadena: Prosecutors decline to charge four men, including city manager’s son, over late-night bash.

Prosecutors have decided not to file charges in connection with a noisy drinking party that ended in the arrests of four young men, including the city manager’s son, but the hangover from last month’s bash throbs on.

Although the late-night gathering of 30 to 40 young adults might have annoyed some residents of this small, well-to-do community, there was insufficient evidence to charge the suspects with disturbing the peace, head Deputy Dist. Atty. David R. Disco said this week.

“Our focus is whether the conduct at that party was criminal . . . and in my judgment, we could not establish that in this case,” Disco said. “We can’t be the arbiters of what makes good neighbors.”

The South Pasadena Police Officers Assn., already upset that a private investigator has been hired by the City Council to look into allegations of police misconduct at the party, reacted angrily to the decision.

“This was a case of a bunch of spoiled brats with some connections who wanted to continue their party when the officers asked them not to,” said Sylvia E. Kellison, the police association’s attorney. “Unfortunately, I guess this means there’s a different standard of justice for children of politicians than for the average citizen’s kids.”

On Monday, the officers’ anger spilled over into the 42nd State Assembly District race, in which South Pasadena Mayor Evelyn Fierro is challenging incumbent Richard Mountjoy.

By hiring an outside investigator to probe police handling of the incident, Fierro “has become a symbol of defiance . . . for the youth of the community and, inadvertently, has become a champion of teen-age drinking rights,” the association charged, throwing its endorsement to Mountjoy.

Fierro fired back Tuesday, calling the officers’ reaction “typical of police-state tactics.”

“I will not be threatened to ignore alleged violations of any citizen’s civil and constitutional rights,” she said in a prepared statement.

None of the four South Pasadena men arrested Sept. 14 in the 1100 block of Stratford Avenue was available for comment on the district attorney’s decision. They are John Bernardi Jr., 22, son of the city manager; Bryan Lee Prentiss, 22, son of the former mayor; Thomas D. Ramos, 20, son of the former Chamber of Commerce president; and Scott D. Josephson, 21.

All have been cleared in the incident except for Prentiss, who faces one count of destroying public property for allegedly kicking a telephone off the wall while being held in South Pasadena jail and stomping it into little pieces.

“I was just trying to dial 411,” Prentiss explained to officers, according to a copy of the police report obtained by The Times.

Almost immediately after the party, Bernardi’s son filed a citizen’s complaint of police officers’ excessive force; the City Council hired the $50-an-hour investigator; the police charged political meddling, and Police Chief William Reese announced his retirement.

For a while, there were so many rumors, leaks and accusations that the South Pasadena Review declared in an Oct. 10 editorial: “Back in the days of World War II, there was a Navy poster of a sailor whispering, ‘Loose Talk Sinks Ships.’ . . . Today we need a poster that says, ‘Loose Talk Can Sink Cities.’ ”

But on Wednesday evening, the talk was expected to continue. The police association was slated to appear before the City Council with complaints that nearly $20,000 in city time and money has been spent on what officers say is a senseless investigation.

Although a final report has not yet been completed, the police association attorney contended that the nine officers interrogated in the course of the investigation have been cleared of any wrongdoing and that allegations by Bernardi’s son of police misconduct have all been refuted.

“In the five years that I’ve been an attorney for police officers, I have never seen such an insignificant incident generate so many hours of interrogation,” said Kellison, who represents more than 100 police associations in Southern California. “There’s been officer-involved shooting investigations that have taken less time than this.”

Officers were first called to the Ramos family’s wood-and-stone home about 10:15 p.m. by a retired couple living next-door, but a patrolman cruising by the house did not hear any disturbance and continued on his rounds, according to the 10-page police report.

The couple called police again at 11:25 p.m., complaining of loud music and shouting coming from the party. This time, officers entered through a rear patio, where they found several dozen young adults, and many containers of beer and wine scattered about, the report said.

Officers say they asked Ramos to reduce the noise, but maintain that he ignored them and that the party continued unabated.

“Ramos and Bernardi both challenged the right of the officers to be there and said the police had no authority to restrict their speech or freedom,” the report said. “Bernardi threatened to call his father if we did not leave the premises. Despite further warnings that he would be arrested, Ramos went back into the house to continue the party.”

Officers followed Ramos into the kitchen and arrested him, sparking an outburst by other party-goers, who allegedly surrounded the officers and shouted that the police had no right to arrest their friend.

The other three suspects were arrested after they allegedly ignored continued warnings from the police to leave the party and go home, the report said.

Disco, the head deputy district attorney, said no charges were filed primarily because “loud and unreasonable noise” is defined under state law as noise that incites violence or creates a clear and present danger, not merely a racket that keeps neighbors up at night.

“I don’t mean to endorse the specific party or gathering,” he said, “but based upon the facts, we can’t establish that the noise was such that it would create a clear and present danger.”