Local Security Company Donates Fully Equipped K-9 Vehicle to Police Department – Pasadena Now

From left to right Pasadena Police Commander Bill Grisafe, Commander Marcia Taglioretti, Deputy Chief Art Chute, and John Perez of Metro Patrol celebrate the donation of a fully equipped K-9 Chevrolet Tahoe, boosting officer and K-9 safety and operational readiness. [City of Pasadena photo]

From left to right Pasadena Police Commanders Sean Dawkins, Bill Grisafe, Marcia Taglioretti, Deputy Chief Art Chute, Metro Patrol Founder John Perez, Metro Patrol staff member, Officer John Lewy, and Sergeant Richard Padilla [City of Pasadena photo]

Metro Patrol Donates-Fully Equipped K-9 Chevrolet Tahoe to Pasadena Police Department [City of Pasadena photo]

Pasadena Police Sergeant Richard Padilla and Officer John Lewy with K-9 partner Barry. [City of Pasadena photo]

The Pasadena Police Department’s K-9 unit received a fully equipped 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe last week, donated by California Metro Patrol, a Pasadena-based private security firm, replacing a canine vehicle that had been in service for more than a decade.

The donation, which was approved by the Pasadena City Council on March 24, 2025, provides the department’s six-dog K-9 program with a modern vehicle outfitted with specialized features for canine law enforcement operations, including temperature-monitoring equipment that protects the animal during extended fieldwork.

The vehicle it replaces had been in use since 2014, according to the city.

Joe Perez, owner of California Metro Patrol, donated the vehicle, according to the city council agenda. The council authorized City Manager Miguel Márquez to accept the donation as a consent calendar item at its March 24, 2025, meeting. According to the city’s weekly newsletter, the donation followed more than a year of discussions between Metro Patrol and the department.

Members of the department’s command staff formally accepted the vehicle last week. Deputy Chief Art Chute, Commanders Sean Dawkins, Bill Grisafe, and Marcia Taglioretti, Officer John Lewy, and Sgt. Richard Padilla were on hand for the presentation, according to the city.

The department presented California Metro Patrol with a custom wooden plaque featuring an image of a K-9 and the names of the department’s six canines — Chase, Knoert, Barry, Rex, Edo, and Pepa — as a token of appreciation.

Padilla has supervised the K-9 unit since 2016. Lewy, a K-9 handler partnered with a Belgian Malinois named Barry, joined the unit in 2023. Lewy was named Pasadena’s Officer of the Year in 2022 and received the California Police Officer of the Year award from the American Legion, according to the department’s website.

The vehicle includes specialized equipment for K-9 operations, including temperature-monitoring systems that protect the dog during searches or pursuits, according to the city newsletter.

California Metro Patrol, headquartered at 1308 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, describes itself as a security firm founded by retired law enforcement and civil service professionals with more than 114 years of combined management experience, according to the company’s website. The firm provides residential and commercial security services.

The city newsletter also stated that the vehicle was donated in partnership with Federal Signal Corporation, a manufacturer of emergency vehicle equipment. The city council agenda, however, names only Perez and California Metro Patrol as the donor. The role of Federal Signal in the donation could not be independently confirmed.

The department’s K-9 teams support patrol operations across Pasadena, conducting building and vehicle searches, evidence recovery, and narcotics-related investigations. The unit operates six dogs and is overseen by Padilla, who also became a K-9 handler himself in 2021.

The donation came at no cost to taxpayers. At the same March 24, 2025, council meeting, the council also approved the acceptance of a donated 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe, valued at $42,945, from US Auto Trust for the Pasadena Fire Department.