In a case that echoes Trayvon Martin, Kendrec McDade, 19, was shot by police in Pasadena, CA last weekend. Once again, he was unarmed. The ending on this one is a little different, as the police actually did some investigation. Now the person who called 911 about McDade has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for lying about McDade being armed.
The investigation into a controversial police killing of a college student last weekend took a dramatic twist Wednesday when Pasadena authorities arrested a 911 caller, alleging his fabrication led to the shooting.
An officer shot 19-year-old Kendrec McDade on a narrow street in the city's Northwest district about 11 p.m. Saturday.
Police were dispatched to the scene after a man, identified as Oscar Carrillo, called 911. He said two armed men had stolen his laptop computer and backpack as he was buying tacos at a stand on Orange Grove Boulevard.
But on Wednesday, officials said that Carrillo, 26, lied to police about the existence of a gun and that detectives now believe neither McDade nor the other person were armed.
[Pasadena police chief Philip] Sanchez said that after more interviews, Carrillo admitted to detectives that he lied about the gun.
But Sanchez said a security camera video shows that the two young men were involved in the theft of a backpack from Carrillo's car. Sanchez alleged that McDade was a lookout in the theft.
The officer who fired was sitting on the driver's side of his cruiser. He shot McDade after the teenager allegedly made a motion toward his waistband, Pasadena police Lt. Phlunte Riddle said. The officer used the cruiser to block McDade's path, she said. "It was close range less than 10 feet," she said. A second officer, who was chasing McDade on foot, also opened fire, "fearing for [the] other officer's safety," Riddle said.
McDade, a football standout at Azusa High School who attended Citrus College, died of his injuries at Huntington Memorial Hospital. Police spent the next two days looking for a gun or the stolen laptop computer, but said they found neither.
Still way too many questions, but when even a minimal investigation is done, it's possible to assign some responsibility.
(hat tip The Root)
EDIT: As far as I can tell, the facts...
1) Man's backpack is stolen by two people, caught on video
2) Call to authority claims it was a stolen backpack AND laptop at gunpoint
3) Man who may or may not have been on video is shot by jumpy police who are told someone has a gun, is alleged to be a lookout who turns out to be unarmed
4) No gun or laptop found anywhere
5) Caller admits lying when video shows no armed robbery
I can't even say that the evidence points to McDade being a lookout - he may just have been a black male who happened to be near a theft. I find it about as likely that someone's trying to cover his ass by claiming that McDade was a lookout. No matter - a decent young man is cut down