Authorities investigating the killing of a black 19-year-old college
athlete have determined that not only did multiple shots fired by cops
cause the death of Kendrec McDade —
but that police officers cuffed the
suspect as he laid dying on the street. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has released their report on
the death of Kendrec McDade, a young black man who was shot and killed
by cops in Pasadena, California this past March after police officers
responded to a fraudulent 911 call. According to the medical examiner
that assessed the body, at least three of the shots fired at McDade were
fatal.
The report also reveals, however, that authorities thought it
was appropriate to shackle the teenager after emptying more than half a
dozen rounds into his body.
The officers that shot and killed
McDade did so while responding to a 911 call placed by local shop owner
Oscar Carrillo. At the time he dialed for help, Carrillo told
dispatchers that he was the victim of a robbery and claimed that two
armed men stole his backpack. Cops responded and would eventually open
fire when one of the suspects they stopped, McDade, reached towards his
waistband.
Both officers involved have gone on the record to say
they realized McDade was unarmed, but not until they had already shot
the suspect. Carrillo later admitted that he made up that claim that the
robbers were armed in hopes that law enforcement would be dispatched
right away. A second teen was arrested nearby and charged with two
counts of commercial burglary, one count of grand theft and one count of
failure to register as a gang member as a condition of his probation.
For his role, Carrillo was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The
parents of the deceased don’t think that the police are putting
together the pieces to the puzzle, though. McDade’s mother and father
have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Pasadena Police
Department because they feel like higher-ups on the force tried to cover
up the officer’s own mistakes. Pasadena Lt. Phlunte Riddle tells
the Los Angeles Times that he cannot comment on the case while an
investigation is being conducted, but that, typically, it is up to the
officer on the scene to decide when to remove the cuffs of a suspected
criminal.
"Procedurally, until an individual has been deemed to be no further threat, the officer can use discretion to unhandcuff," Riddle tells the paper.
In
the case of McDade, then, it would seem as if the officers felt
threatened until paramedics arrived and moved the bloodied,
bullet-riddled body of the young man onto an ambulance. Detective
Van Hecke of the Pasadena Police Department writes in his official
witness statement that one of the officers involved handcuffed McDade on
the ground aware that at least four shots had been fired. The
witness statement authorized by Detective Van Hecke explains that
paramedics were dispatched to the scene in regards to a medical aid call
after McDade was injured:
“Upon their arrival, they found the
decedent lying prone on the asphalt in the middle of the street with
his hands cuffed behind his back. They noted (8) visible gunshot wounds
to his body. They noted the decedent to be combative and restrained him.
He was awake and alert and had vital signs.”
How combative
McDade actually was could be a decision that may be left for a court to
decide. Both officers that opened fire, Detective Keith Gomez and
Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez are all named as defendants in the
federal lawsuit. Whatever the outcome, it should be noted that
the coroner determined that at least three of the bullets were still
lodged in the victim’s body before he died. His iliac, femoral and
brachial arteries were all lacerated in the event before McDade was
cuffed.
“They transported him to the ER where ER personnel
noted (11) gunshot wounds to his body (ten to the front and one to the
rear),” continues the report.
“He was awake and speaking, but altered. He then began to lose his pulse.” McDade
was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on March 25. When the
coroner finished a separate examination of the body outside of the ER,
only seven gunshot wounds were identified, although eight casings were
recovered from the scene. The boy’s father, Kenneth McDade, told
the Associated Press earlier this year that he was outraged that the
Pasadena PD has pegged the blame seemingly solely on Carrillo for lying
in his emergency call.
“How can I put my trust in a system that doesn't ever work for us?" McDade senior asked the AP. The family is seeking unspecified damages.
(RT)
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