Office of Independent Review Report Released in McClain Shooting, Recommends Police Make 27 Procedural and Policy Changes

Pasadena released the final investigatory report into the officer-involved shooting of Anthony McClain in August 2020 on Thursday. The probe by the Office of Independent Review suggests 27 procedural and policy recommendations for the Pasadena Police Department.

McClain was fatally shot after he fled from police during a traffic stop.

Police say McClain was armed and his possession of a firearm prompted the shooting, but many local residents say they do not see a gun in the video footage of the fatal incident.

But according to police, McClain’s DNA was found on an unserialized ghost gun recovered at the scene.

The report is the OIR Group’s third critical police incident review for the City of Pasadena. The OIR was previously retained to review the shooting of Leroy Barnes, Jr., in February of 2009 and the March 2012 shooting of Kendrec McDade.

In those two prior reports, OIR Group presented a total of 40 recommendations.  In the years since these incidents, the Pasadena Police Dept. has implemented some of these recommendations, others had already been implemented by the department.

This time, in the report on the McClain shooting, the OIR made 27 recommendations, including several that have already been adopted by the police department.

A complete and unredacted copy of the OIR report is available on the City of Pasadena website.

As part of its investigation, the group received complete access to the department’s criminal and administrative investigations, related documents, police reports, photographic and video evidence, recorded and transcribed interviews, and forensic evidence pertaining to this incident.  

The OIR also reviewed the department’s policies and procedure manual. 

“This process was thorough, professional and transparent by all who participated,” said Chief Eugene Harris, who was appointed to his position nearly three years after the shooting in January 2023. “I wish to thank the OIR group for their attention and partnership.”

In its report, the OIR said it found issues with the timing of the department’s investigations. 

“The Administrative Investigation was paused for nearly two years pending conclusion of the criminal investigation and much of the civil litigation,” the report stated. “As a result of this time lapse and subsequent demands for its completion, the administrative investigation was limited and overly reliant on the evidence collected during the criminal investigation, which itself had several issues.”

According to the report, those issues included management of the crime scene, the involved officer’s ability to move through the crime scene and interact with other officers prior to being sequestered, a delay in obtaining officer statements, and officers viewing their own or others body-worn camera video footage.

“The artificial demand to rush to complete the Administrative Investigation resulted in a too-limited scope and missed opportunities to fully evaluate the decision to engage in a foot pursuit as well as failures in body-worn camera activation,” the report said.

The report also stated that the Pasadena Police Department’s Use of Force Review Board, the Board’s deliberations did not: sufficiently evaluate Officer Dumaguindin’s use of deadly force, or explicitly consider the Department’s multi-factor policy to evaluate the force and consider and evaluate Officer Dumaguindin’s decision to engage in the foot pursuit, or whether his action aligned with Department policy on foot pursuits.  

Dumaguindin briefly pursued McClain before he opened fire as McClain headed across Raymond Avenue. 

The OIR called on the department to reconsider pretext stops, particularly for vehicle equipment violations, more clearly defining the role of the police union representative at officer-involved shooting scenes and conduct effective community engagement.  

“This incident suggested that more should be done to enhance current community-police relations.  Revisiting how PPD releases officer-involved shooting information in the future.  Evaluation of policies regarding handcuffing of injured subjects and provision of timely medical aid.    

The OIR report is the final probe in the incident and only reviews adherence to police policy. The officers earlier were cleared of wrongdoing by the District Attorney George Gascón.