A new copy of an independent consultant’s report on the 2012 fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by Pasadena police officers includes more criticism of the way the city’s police department handled the investigation into the killing, it was reported last week. The latest version of the report on the shooting of Kendrec McDade includes several sections that the city previously tried to keep hidden from the public, The Los Angeles Times reported in an article posted on its website.
A portion of the report says the two officers who shot McDade were never asked by department investigators whether they considered warning the 19-year-old that “they were about to use deadly force if he did not stop his perceived aggressive actions,” according to the newspaper. Another unredacted portion says that a memo provided to the officers outlining whether their actions violated department policy “does not come close to the level of detail that would be necessary for detailed feedback,” The Times reported. The new version of the report also shows that the department conceded that the officers should have been asked why they didn’t activate their patrol car’s camera while they chased McDade. Police officials said it would have been extremely useful to have had video of the events that led up to the shooting.
Dale L. Gronemeier, an attorney who represents McDade’s mother, described the city’s redactions as a “cover-up” designed to blunt criticism of the police investigation. McDade was shot by Officers Jeffrey Newlen and Matthew Griffin, who are white, as he ran from police on Sunset Avenue after dark. The district attorney’s office found that the two officers reasonably believed McDade was armed with a gun based on false information from a 911 caller, who reported his laptop had been stolen by two armed men.
One officer said he saw McDade’s hand at his waistband during the pursuit and thought the teen was about to shoot him, according to a district attorney’s report on the shooting. The city hired the Office of Independent Review Group to analyze the officers’ actions and the department’s investigation of the killing. The Times, along with McDade’s family, sued to obtain a copy of the group’s report over the objections of the police officers’ union.
