A non-profit foundation hired by Pasadena to independently review the September police custody death of Reginald Thomas, Jr. began its work this week, according to Pasadena’s Assistant City Manager Julie Gutierrez.

Pasadena finalized a $30,000 contract with the Washington D.C.-based Police Foundation, to carry out earlier this week. The Police Foundation is a national, non-profit research organization that offers in depth reviews of critical incidents to help police departments to become more effective, according to its website.

Executive Fellow Rick Braziel, Sacramento’s former police chief and inspector general for Sacramento County, is leading the review.

A proposal submitted by the Police Foundation estimates the work could take two to four months to complete.

Reginald Thomas Jr. died in police custody Sept. 30 after police shocked him with a Taser and restrained his arms and legs following a struggle. Police have said Thomas was holding a knife and a fire extinguisher when officers encountered him.

Weeks of protests and outcry from concerned residents followed Thomas’ death. His family alleged officers kicked and used batons to strike the man in the head, then withheld evidence to conceal wrong doing.

Foundation has ties to former Pasadena chief

Former Pasadena Police Chief Bernard Melekian sits on the Police Foundation’s board, but he said Friday he was not involved in the foundation’s selection and will play no role in the investigation.

“I will not be privy to any of the material or the findings until the same time the public is aware of it,” Melekian said when reached by phone. “I have every confidence in the quality and thoroughness of the Police Foundation’s work. They have covered a number of major incidents and I know firsthand how thorough and impartial they actually are.”

Pasadena’s request for proposals for the review concluded in November. City officials finalized the $29,855 agreement with the Police Foundation on March 6, according to the contract.

Pasadena Spokesman William Boyer said Melekian has no influence on the investigation.

“While he sits on the board, he is not involved directly with this,” he said.

Melekian left the Pasadena Police Department in 2009 to serve as the director of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) under U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. He was appointed undersheriff for Santa Barbara County in 2015.

Councilman Tyron Hampton said Friday he believed Melekian’s involvement could give the appearance of a conflict of interest.

“It can degrade the faith and confidence people have in city government and in city leadership,” Hampton said. “This is brand new to me, I will have to look into it more.”

Who is carrying out the investigation

Braziel is leading the review under the supervision of the foundation’s president, James Bueermann, police chief at the Redlands Police Department until 2011.

“Rick is an Executive Fellow with the Foundation and brings with him over 33 years of law enforcement experience as well as high profile, critical incident reviews,” Gutierrez wrote.

“He was the lead investigator into the events related to the Christopher Dorner shootings in Southern California. Rick was also a member of the US DOJ sponsored team sent to Ferguson, MO to review the police response to the riots and he continues to work on a US DOJ Collaborative Reform intiative in St. Louis.”

Braziel has been the inspector general for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department since 2015. In addition to the Dorner report, he worked on an assessment of the San Bernardino shootings, according to his resume.

Braziel worked for the Sacramento Police Department from 1979 to 2012, serving as the police chief for his final four years.

Thursday was the first time Pasadena publicly disclosed Braziel’s hiring. A scope of services included in the newsletter shows Braziel is tasked with reviewing the death; the administrative review conducted by the Pasadena Police Department’s command staff; and the city’s decision to use the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to conduct criminal investigations of critical incidents involving the police department.

What will happen with the report

Braziel will prepare and present a public report to the City Council, but he is also tasked with providing a “confidential briefing” to the city attorney and city manager to help with “the delivery of legal services” related to the civil complaint filed by Thomas’ family.

The contract bars Braziel from “disclosing confidential information” in his public report and requires him to not respond to “media and/or public inquires,” according to the document.

The Pasadena Police Officers Association locked the city’s independent review of the police shooting of unarmed 19-year-old Kendrec McDade in 2009 in a legal battle for years over the inclusion of information they said violated police officers’ rights to privacy. An appeals court forced the release of a redacted version of the critical report in 2015.