In a recent interview with Pasadena city officials, an unusual and alarming trend involving bottles allegedly containing human urine has been uncovered. For the past two years, these bottles have been repeatedly left on an electrical box at the intersection of West Colorado Boulevard and South San Rafael Avenue, despite efforts to deter this behavior through the installation of protective pyramid structures atop the box. Unfortunately, these measures have proven ineffective, as the bottles keep reappearing and the barriers often fall victim to vandalism.
Lisa Derderian, a spokesperson for the city of Pasadena, explained on October 3 that plans for more robust protective devices aim not only to prevent further damage but also to address safety concerns stemming from potential tampering with the electrical box, which contains live current. Current investigations by the police are ongoing, although it remains uncertain whether the individual behind the vandalism is the same one responsible for leaving the questionable bottles. At this stage, the contents of the bottles have not been tested; officials are primarily focused on discerning the motives behind these actions.
Derderian pointed out that an unidentified individual has been consistently depositing labeled bottles of “human urine” on the Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) electrical box near Highway 134. Maintenance crews have been tasked with cleaning these bottles, only to find new ones appearing almost immediately afterward.
Following a request from Vice Mayor Steve Madison on September 5, the PWP team installed a protective pyramid on the electrical box on September 12, but this structure was vandalized just four days later, allowing the bottles to return. In response, the PWP staff fashioned another pyramid and welded it to the base of the electrical box, yet this too fell victim to destruction. Fortunately, since the new installation, no bottles have been reported.
These bizarre incidents have prompted a surge of conversation on social media, catching the attention of local filmmaker Derek Milton and his friend Grant Yansura, who decided to document the situation. To track down the perpetrator, they set up surveillance cameras near the electrical box. On September 4, Milton shared a TikTok post that featured a photo of a masked man, captioned, “This is the guy placing urine bottles on the box at 4 AM.”
So far, no one has been directly harmed or infected as a result of these events. Derderian noted that the city has invested about $1,500 in materials for ongoing repairs and reinforcements of the protective device to mitigate further vandalism. Madison stressed that whoever is behind these actions—whether an individual or a group—will eventually be caught if this behavior persists.
