Pasadena Releases OIR Report on McDade Shooting

The City today released a redacted copy of a report on the March 24, 2012 police officer-involved shooting of Kendrec McDade after a determination was made this morning by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant that the document should be made public. The report was prepared for the City by the Office of Independent Review Group (OIR).

Additional court proceedings regarding the OIR report are scheduled and the City expects to be able to release a copy of the report with fewer redactions.

The next court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 1, 2015, at which time the City anticipates the Court will issue further direction in the case.

“We are pleased with Judge Chalfant’s confirmation that the City can provide the public with this version of the OIR report, which is consistent with the City’s position that we need to be transparent by releasing as much as legally possible so that the community has the opportunity to read the report,” Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek said.

The report is posted online for the public at pasadena.buzz/documents/OIR.pdf. The PDF format report is 23 MB.

In 2014, the City had reportedlt planned to release a redacted version of the OIR report, redacting portions involving confidential police personnel records. The City was prevented from doing so after litigation was filed by the Pasadena Police Officers Association. The association sought to prevent the entire report from being released. Other parties joined the lawsuit seeking full disclosure while the City continued to seek release of a redacted version.

The matter ultimately went to California’s Court of Appeal, which affirmed the City’s ability to release a redacted version of the OIR report, before returning the case to the Superior Court. The Court of Appeal confirmed that a less-redacted version should be released following additional proceedings by the Superior Court scheduled in December.

McDade, then 19, was fatally shot by Pasadena police officers responding to a 911 emergency caller who falsely claimed McDade committed an armed robbery. McDade, whom officers later learned was unarmed, died at the scene. The officers involved in the shooting were cleared of any wrongdoing by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and an internal review by the Pasadena Police Department. The FBI also found no civil rights violations occurred.