3rd Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Over Police Shooting of Anthony McClain

A third federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the city of Pasadena and its Police Department over the death of a Black man who was fatally shot by an officer in August.

The federal claim, filed last Tuesday by attorneys John Burton and Dale Galipo, who are representing one of Anthony McClain’s children, follows two others previously filed by lawyers representing other family members. It seeks unspecified damages.

In the lawsuit, attorneys claim that McClain was free to leave the traffic stop because he was “a passenger suspected of no crime.”

“As Mr. McClain ran away, posing no threat to anyone,” the lawsuit states, “Officer Dumaguindin fired his pistol twice, hitting Mr. McClain in the back with what proved to be a lethal shot. Mr. McClain collapsed. He was transported by ambulance to Huntington Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”

The lawsuits originated as administrative claims against the city. The claim filed by Burton and Galipo was formally rejected via letter on Oct. 16, according to the federal filing which clears the way for the lawsuit. 

All sides agree that McClain, 32, was a passenger in a car that was pulled over on North Raymond Avenue near La Pintoresca Park for failing to display a front license plate.

In the seconds that followed, Pasadena Police Department officials have said McClain ran from officers, drawing a handgun from his waistband as he fled, prompting Dumaguindin to open fire. McClain continued running a short distance before tossing a handgun across the street and collapsing, according to police. 

But through their attorneys, family members of McClain have argued that the shooting was unnecessary and unjustified.

McClain’s DNA was recovered from a pistol that police seized at the scene, investigators said. But attorney Caree Harper, representing several of McClain’s family members, has questioned whether the gun may have been contaminated with McClain’s DNA, such as his blood, after the police shooting took place.

Video released by police shows McClain fleeing from the traffic stop with an object in his hand, but the object cannot be clearly identified in the footage.

See also:

Two Separate Federal Civil Rights Lawsuits Filed In Case Of Man Fatally Shot By Pasadena Police

Memorial for Anthony McClain Removed For 2nd Time After Re-Emerging

Attorneys Representing Relatives of Anthony McClain Say DNA Found on Handgun Does Not Exonerate Police