Police Seek Party-Busting Rules : South Pasadena: The new interim chief wants a written policy and asks for calm in the wake of a September incident that is still being investigated.

As an investigation continues into police handling of a noisy drinking bash last September, the city’s new interim police chief is developing guidelines on “how to shut down a party.”

Robert Price, a retired Bakersfield police chief who will serve in South Pasadena until a permanent chief is selected, said this week that he hopes a more definitive policy will alleviate some of the bad feelings--among officers and party-goers--that recent gatherings have sparked.

“There’s no standard procedure on how to shut down a party . . . or even what is a party,” said Price, 58, who took over the chief’s post Oct. 22. “The officers just sort of go on their own.”

Price said the new policy will probably include a section on the use of video cameras to document the conduct of police and party-goers. The camera, he said, “doesn’t discriminate. It gets everybody’s picture and what everybody says.”

The attorney for the South Pasadena Police Officers Assn., angry that a private investigator was hired by the City Council to look into allegations of police misconduct at the Sept. 14 party, said the guidelines are long overdue.

“The officers feel that since there’s no written policy, anything they do could be considered wrong,” attorney Sylvia E. Kellison said. “We’ve been requesting those directions for over two years.”

The investigation, which is being conducted by a former Pomona police lieutenant, is expected to be completed within a month, officials said. It was ordered by the City Council after two people complained that police used excessive force in breaking up the Stratford Avenue party.

One of them was John Bernardi Jr., the 22-year-old son of the city manager, who was arrested that night for disturbing the peace and resisting an officer. Also arrested were Bryan Lee Prentiss, 22, son of a former mayor; Thomas D. Ramos, 20, son of a former Chamber of Commerce president, and Scott D. Josephson, 21.

Prosecutors threw out the case last month when they decided that there was insufficient evidence to charge the four suspects with disturbing the peace. Prentiss, though, was charged with one count of destroying public property for allegedly kicking a jail telephone off the wall and stomping it to pieces.

Price, who will probably remain as police chief for at least three months, took over when William Reese retired from the department last month after 29 years, the last 5 1/2 as chief.

Price, who is earning $5,276 a month, said he views his role as that of a caretaker. He said he hopes to calm the city until a new chief is named.

“We have a problem in that there are some bad feelings between some members of the community and the police,” Price said. “I don’t want to assess blame. But I want to find out what’s causing the problem and alleviate some of those feelings.”