Judge Announces Final Settlement in McDade Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee announced in court this morning that a final settlement has been reached in the civil rights lawsuit filed by the parents of police shooting victim Kendrec McDade against the City of Pasadena. A settlement was reached with McDade’s mother, Anya Slaughter, last Friday.  The city had not settled with McDade’s father, Kenneth McDade. Terms of both settlements have not been disclosed.

The federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the parents of the unarmed, 19-year-old college student shot to death by Pasadena police in 2012 did not go to trial today, the presiding judge instead addressing the courtroom to announce that a final settlement has been reached.

Anya Slaughter, the mother of victim Kendrec McDade, settled with the city of Pasadena last Friday in a deal about which little is yet known.

The city had not settled with McDade’s father, Kenneth McDade. The case was set to proceed in a Los Angeles federal courtoom this morning, but after a meeting in chambers with lawyers from both sides and Kenneth McDade, Judge Gee returned to the bench to announce that McDade too had settled.

The judge said the settlement terms were not being disclosed.  Harper would not speak to the media about the settlement.

At city hall, City of Pasadena Public Information Officer William Boyer confirmed a settlement had been reached but not finalized. Boyer would not comment further.

Kendrec McDade was shot in March, 2012 by Pasadena police officers Mathew Griffin and Jeffrey Newlen as they responded to a 9-1-1 report of an armed robbery.

The subsequent investigation would reveal that McDade was not armed and that the 9-1-1 call was in fact an intentionally false report.

The two police officers were cleared of legal wrongdoing by both an internal review and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.