Protesters Decry Fatal Police Shooting in Pasadena

Demonstrators block the intersection of Fair Oaks Avenue and Colorado Boulevard during a protest against police violence after Anthony McClain was shot and killed during an altercation with an officer from the Pasadena Police Department in Old Pasadena, Sunday, August 17, 2020. (Photo by James Carbone)

Demonstrators disrupt dinners at restaurant along Colorado Boulevard during a protest against police violence after Anthony McClain was shot and killed during an altercation with an officer from the Pasadena Police Department in Old Pasadena, Sunday, August 17, 2020. (Photo by James Carbone)

Demonstrators disrupt dinners at restaurants at the Paseo outdoor mall in Pasadena during a protest against police violence after Anthony McClain was shot and killed during an altercation with an officer from the Pasadena Police Department in Old Pasadena, Sunday, August 17, 2020. (Photo by James Carbone)

Anthony McClain is written with chalk in front of the Pasadena Police Department during a protest against police violence after Anthony McClain was shot and killed during an altercation with an officer from the Pasadena Police Department in Old Pasadena, Sunday, August 17, 2020. (Photo by James Carbone)

Posters for Anthony McClain is being made in front of the Pasadena Police Department during a protest against police violence after Anthony McClain was shot and killed during an altercation with an officer from the Pasadena Police Department in Old Pasadena, Sunday, August 17, 2020. (Photo by James Carbone)

Emotional demonstrators block Colorado Boulevard during a protest against police violence after Anthony McClain was shot and killed during an altercation with an officer from the Pasadena Police Department in Old Pasadena, Sunday, August 17, 2020. (Photo by James Carbone)

Demonstrators block Colorado Boulevard during a protest against police violence after Anthony McClain was shot and killed during an altercation with an officer from the Pasadena Police Department in Old Pasadena, Sunday, August 17, 2020. (Photo by James Carbone)

Demonstrators protest against police violence after Anthony McClain was shot and killed during an altercation with an officer from the Pasadena Police Department in Old Pasadena, Sunday, August 17, 2020. (Photo by James Carbone)

[UPDATED] A group of several dozen demonstrators marched to Pasadena City Hall and police headquarters Sunday to protest the fatal shooting of a man who police said pulled a gun while fleeing from a traffic stop on Saturday night.

Protestors briefly blocked the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Marengo Avenue before marching on toward City Hall and the Pasadena Police Department. They chanted, “No justice, no peace. No racist police.”

The group marched to the Pasadena Police Department, then set up at the intersection of Fair Oaks Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. They planned to head to City Hall for a rally at 6 p.m., then to La Pintoresca Park at 7 p.m. for a vigil, organizers said. Police provided an escort.

The demonstration follows a deadly police shooting that took place north of Washington Boulevard.

Police said the man, whose identity had not been formally released by coroner’s officials Sunday, was a passenger in a car that was pulled over.

“The suspect ran into the street, holding his waistband and while fleeing, removed a firearm from the waistband,” Pasadena police said in a written statement. “The officer saw the firearm and fearing for both his and the public’s safety, the officer fired his weapon twice at the suspect striking him at least once in the upper torso.”

About a hundred vehicles take part in car caravan memorial at La Pintoresca Park in Pasadena for Anthony McClain who was shot and killed during an altercation with the Pasadena PD on Saturday night. #BlackLivesMatter #BlacklivesStillMatter #Pasadena #protest #BLMprotest pic.twitter.com/nEoR1VbCoH

— James F. Carbone (@saintcamera) August 17, 2020

“The suspect continued running as he discarded his firearm into the street,” the statement said.

Some in the community have demanded to see video footage of the impact and expressed doubt regarding the narrative provided by police.

Among those at the demonstration was Allen Shay. vice chair of the city’s Northwest Commission.

“How do we move forward?” he said. “Within the last two weeks, we’ve had hearings on oversight committees for Pasadena for this very type of incident, and yet it has happened in our community once again, with an African American man being the victim,” he said.

Shay pointed out that the person shot in the incident was a passenger in the car that was initially stopped, “which is alarming.”

“And from what I understand, he was shot in the back,” Shay said. Authorities have not confirmed that claim.

“These kinds of things are alarming, that we can’t figure out how to prevent these types of incidents from happening. There’s got to be some way,” he said.

“That’s really my biggest focus: to figure this out, so we can implement something that will get the community the results that they need, which is a good program that will address these kinds of incidents,” Shay said. “We haven’t been able to crystallize any real strategy. It’s a vetting process that takes a while. And so until we can crystalize a real strategy and implement it, it’s still up in the air with everything.”

Police Chief John Perez on Saturday night promised a transparent investigation and the release of video footage as quickly as possible.

“We are looking at our body-worn camera, our in-car camera video as well. So we put all this together and release it to the public as soon as we can. It’s going to be very, very important that the public is able to see the video,” Perez said. “We had more officers than usual out in the last few days. We have recovered about six or seven guns. It’s been a very dangerous area over the past week, so we have been concerned… And again, we want the video to come out as soon as we can for the public to view it.”

“These are tragic for our community. Anytime we have an officer-involved shooting, it is a time when our community needs to come together, to understand the facts, hold me, as police chief, accountable, to what we put out for the community and ensure that we have video to release to the community, and the facts as well,” he said. “But these are horrific for our community and tragic for everybody, especially the family who lost somebody they loved very much.”