by Adolfo Flores
Pasadena Sun
Legislation that would protect children in military-style boot camps and increase state oversight was introduced by two Pasadena-area legislators in Sacramento Wednesday.
The bill, SB 1089, authored by State Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge) and Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) comes after the release of two videos depicting drill instructors forcing children to drink water to the point of vomiting, were released by the Pasadena Star-News.
The bill would add boot camps and other nontraditional youth programs to the California Health and Safety Code, which already provides state regulation of community care, residential and therapeutic day service facilities for youth.
The Pasadena Police Department is investigating Kelvin McFarland’s role in the events depicted in the videos. He’s already facing extortion and false imprisonment charges for a 2011 incident.
