Judge Delays Release of Report on Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Black College Student by White Pasadena Cops - Shot then handcuffed

From [HERE] and [HERE] The release of a report on how Pasadena police investigated the 2012 fatal shooting of an unarmed Black teen by two white cops has been delayed after a white judge granted the officers’ association a temporary restraining order. The association, the city and any interested parties have until Sept. 23 to file arguments for or against releasing the independent report, according to Pasadena city officials.

The Pasadena Police Officers Association and white Officers Matthew Griffin and Jeffrey Newlen sued the city and its top officials and Superior Court Judge James Chalfant agreed to seal the report.

The police officers’ association claimed that the report revealed personnel records on the two officers who shot Kendrec McDade, 19, in March 2012.

"This is the perfect example of a document that should be sealed," Chalfant said, according to the Pasadena Star News. "I intend to grant the order to seal." The Star News and the Pasadena Press Weekly requested a copy of the report, by the Office of Independent Review Group, headed by Michael Gennaco.

Officers Mathew Griffin and Jeff Newlen, who were responding to a 911 call for a laptop stolen at gunpoint, chased McDade into a dark street in Northwest Pasadena and shot him dead allegedly when his hand was at his waistband, believing he was armed, police said. Investigators later discovered he was not armed and the 911 caller had lied about seeing weapons in order to get a quicker police response. McDade only had a cell phone in his pocket.

McDade also does not fit the profile of the kind of person who would normally commit armed robbery. He has no gang ties or prior arrests, was a star football player in high school, and was a student at Citrus College at the time of his death. [MORE] 

McDade was shot at point-blank range by one Pasadena police officer and then after being struck by a total of seven bullets he was handcuffed as he layed in the street dying, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office autopsy report. The federal lawsuit also alleges McDade was left on the street for a prolonged period of time without receiving first aid. 

According to prosecutors, McDade ran up Sunset Street with his right hand at his waist. As he ran, Griffin sped past him in a patrol cruiser and blocked the street as Newlen chased him on foot.

McDade was about to run past the cruiser when he turned and ran directly toward the cruiser where Griffin was seated.

"He left the sidewalk and he's running at me," Griffin told investigators. "This — this scares the crap out of me. I don't know why he is running at me. He's still clutching his waistband. I think he's got a gun. I'm stuck in the car. I got no where to go."

Fearing for his life, Griffin said he fired four times through the open driver's side window. McDade was two or three feet away. Griffin said he then ducked down to his right to avoid being hit by shots he expected from McDade.

He heard two shots and believed McDade had fired at him. Newlen told investigators he heard the gunshots and believed McDade "was firing at Griffin."

He described seeing McDade walk toward the rear of the car and crouch down. Newlen said he heard a second gunshot at that point and saw muzzle flash.

Believing McDade was firing at him, Newlen fired four or five shots at McDade, who fell to the ground after being hit. McDade was later found to be unarmed. He was carrying a cellphone in his pocket. [MORE]

The officers said they acted in self-defense. But in a lawsuit against the city, McDade's parents said the 19 year old was unarmed at the time. McDade's parents settled their civil rights actions against the city for $1 million. The police department and Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office concluded that the officers acted in self-defense, and believed McDade was armed, according to the officers' request for an injunction and restraining.

In June 2012 a world renowned forensic pathologist said facts presented by the autopsy contradicted the official police account of his slaying.

Dr. Cyril Wecht reviewed a report on the death of Kendrec McDade generated by a medical examiner with the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. Wecht said there were multiple inconsistencies between the autopsy and an account of the shooting given by Pasadena police officers.

Among the contradictions is a statement by Police Department officials that McDade was at close range as he approached a patrol car and appeared to reach for a weapon in his waist band. "There was no soot from the burning powder, or stippling, that produced superficial burns on the skin," Wecht said. "The rule of thumb for handguns, if they are less than 24 inches there needs to be some stippling."

A noted expert witness who has consulted on and testified in cases ranging from the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. to the Manson Family killings and the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey, Wecht also questioned Pasadena's claim that McDade became combative after being shot and it was necessary to handcuff the fatally wounded teenager.

"I find it difficult to find someone who has been shot seven times - with gunshot wounds to major arteries - can be considered combative," Wecht said. 

After being shot by police he was handcuffed. Given the injuries sustained by McDade, Wecht found his treatment by the Pasadena police officers at the scene lacking in "sensitivity and common sense."

McDade family Attorney Caree Harper has consistently called into question the use of handcuffs on the Citrus College student as he lay dying in the street. [MORE]