Police Release Video Footage of McClain Shooting

The above video was supplied by the City of Pasadena

Video of an officer involved shooting released on Thursday shed some additional light on the incident which left 32-year-old Pasadena resident Anthony McClain fatally wounded.

Police say McClain fled during a traffic stop and “produced” a weapon from his waistband which prompted a police officer to fire multiple rounds from his weapon.

However, it was hard to tell from the blurry video what the 32-year old man was carrying as he ran and if he shifted his body towards police, prompting the shooting.

McClain definitely appeared to retrieve something from his waistband as he ran away and quickly outdistanced officers.

“The video is never going to be clear enough, but we recovered the gun, both police officers saw it and we have a witness who saw him throw the gun,” said Pasadena Chief of Police John Perez.

Perez said the police department is waiting for DNA and fingerprint evidence on the ground.

McClain and a friend were stopped by police on North Raymond Avenue near La Pintoresca Park just before 8 p.m. on Saturday after police noticed the vehicle did not have a front license plate, police said.

The unidentified driver fully cooperated with police, and revealed that he had just purchased the vehicle and the license plate had fallen off. He provided the plate to the police and voluntarily revealed that he did not have a valid driver’s license and stepped out of the vehicle.

Officers also noted the tinted windows on his vehicle.

McClain also stepped out of the car and approached the rear of the vehicle from the passenger side while holding his hands on his waistband. When he reached the rear of the vehicle, McClain sprinted away as he removed something from his waistband, which appears to glint in the camera.

And as he ran southeast on Raymond Avenue, McClain appeared to run out of his shoes.

At that point, he looked back and the police officer closest to McClain shot twice.
McClain did not appear to stumble or slow down after the officer fired his weapon. That officer did not initially turn on his body worn camera, but did later activate it as he approached McClain, who had fallen to the ground, bleeding.

A gun was later recorded as being located across the street from the incident.

Chief Perez said the department is willing to have a community discussion on the incident and said he thinks that discussion should revolve around if it is okay for his officers to fire at armed fleeing suspects.

According to AB 392 — which was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Aug. 19, 2019 — an officer can use deadly force to apprehend a fleeing person for any felony that threatened or resulted in death or serious bodily injury, and if the officer reasonably believes that the person will cause death or serious bodily injury to another unless immediately apprehended.

The incident has led to more discussion about the way police interact with Black men and sparked protests every night this week.

Critics have said McClain was shot in the back three times, but only two shots were fired according to the footage and the location of the wound has been described by authorities as being in the “flank” and not the back. The precise location will not be definitively known until the coroner produces a final autopsy report.

Although the autopsy has been completed, the report is not yet available. The medical examiner has only confirmed McClain died from a gunshot to the torso.
McClain was alive and complied with police after the shooting.

Immediately following the incident police were forced to deal with an angry crowd grieving the tragic situation. Police were forced to deploy a TASER and fired two darts after one man threatened to knock a police officer out. Police also pepper sprayed the crowd, including an 11-year old boy.

The City Council is currently embroiled in discussions regarding police oversight and on Monday could discuss a model that would create a police commission and a police auditor.

Critics claim the oversight commission model does not go far enough. They are calling for one that includes an independent police auditor that does not answer to the city manager.

If that motion passes, this incident could later come before that commission.