Lawyer: Timing of 911 Caller’s Arrest “Suspicious”

The lawyer for the family of police shooting victim Kendrec McDade, 19, of Azusa is demanding to know why the 911 caller who may have started the chain of events wasn’t arrested for two days after he allegedly confessed to lying in the call, and says the arrest’s timing was “political.”

“Why didn’t they arrest him after he confessed on March 26? Why did it take the family holding a press conference for the police to do their job?” Harper said in a telephone call Wednesday evening.

Harper was referring to the press conference she held with McDade’s parents at Pasadena NAACP headquarters on Wednesday afternoon during which she made a number of statements about the case, including her contention the police should already have arrested the 911 caller.

About two hours later, Pasadena Chief of Police Chief Phillip Sanchez held a press conference to announce the 911 caller’s arrest.

Harper says she finds the arrest’s timing suspicious.

“Was this coincidence or an attempt to pre-empt all the issues I raised in my press conference?” Harper said in the call.

“Mr. Carrillo was not a trigger man, “ Harper said,  it was officers under Sanchez who shot and killed McDade. “Let’s not forget what this is really all about.”

McDade was shot to death by two Pasadena police officers responding to an armed robbery 911 call late on the night of Saturday, March 24.

That 911 call was made by Oscar Carrillo, 26, of Pasadena, who claimed that two black youths had demanded money and flashed a gun. He said the pair then burglarized his car and stole his backback and laptop before running off in different directions.

Police now say Carrillo confessed to lying during the 911 call by reporting the pair were armed. Carrillo was arrested Wednesday and booked on suspicion of manslaughter. He is being held on $25,000 bail.

Harper repeated her call for an independent investigation of the shooting by a government agency with the stature and authority of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice , but stopped short of saying she planned to contact the Dept. of Justice.

Reference: http://www.pasadena.buzz/main/police-arrest-911-caller-in-incident-that-led-to-police-shooting