Policy

Police Killing of Pasadena Teen Ruled Justified

So apparently it's okay to shoot you dead if somebody falsely claims you are armed on a 911 call

|

Pasadena police officers acted lawfully when they fatally shot an unarmed college student in March, prosecutors said Monday.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office found the two officers reasonably believed Kendrec McDade, 19, was armed with a gun based on false information from a 911 caller. A report issued Monday also noted the position of McDade's hand at his waistband during a foot pursuit by the officers.

The controversial shooting sparked protests and outrage in Pasadena, with some drawing comparisons to the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida. McDade was killed March 24 when officers Jeffrey Newlen and Mathew Griffin, responding to a report of an armed robbery of a man by two men near a taco truck in northwest Pasadena, chased McDade onto a dark nearby side street.