City Leaders Tell Gascón Long Officer-Involved Shooting Investigations Violate Trust

In a letter to District Attorney George Gascón obtained by Pasadena Now, city leaders chide LA County’s top law enforcement official for the lack of expediency in officer-involved shooting investigations.

“When OIS criminal investigations linger for long periods, it is unfair to all concerned — shooting victims, the involved officers, and members of the public,” the letter states. “Following an OIS incident, officers, families, and the public deserve a process they can trust. This includes the investigation and review of such incidents.

“As you are aware, California laws in this area were designed to bring matters to a close in a timely manner, foster public trust, and improve public safety by avoiding officers working in the field for the weight of a pending investigation hung over their head. When an OIS criminal investigation is prolonged, this contributes to concerns about a lack of law enforcement transparency, as well eroding the public’s trust and the legitimacy of JSID’s work in reviewing an OIS.”

The Feb. 24 letter is written on Mayor Victor Gordo’s letterhead and was also signed by City Manager Cynthia Kurtz, Police Chief Cheryl Moody and City Attorney/Prosecutor Michele Beal Bagneris.

The letter was crafted after the City Council met in a special meeting to discuss the city’s policy on officer-involved shootings.

During that meeting Gordo said the long investigations don’t enhance public safety or trust.

City officials also offered to consult Supervisor Kathryn Barger to help get Gascón more resources.

“The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has more than 1,000 attorneys with dozens of investigative staff. It is time to make the review of OIS cases a much higher priority,” according to the letter. “We urge you to devote the necessary resources and to develop concrete timelines to investigate and review these matters. We are prepared to assist you in requesting additional resources from the Board of Supervisors, if that is needed or will be helpful. Our community, as well as many others, deserves no less from the District Attorney’s Office and the County of Los Angeles.”

According to police policy, following an OIS, an in-custody death, and other critical incidents, Pasadena detectives and the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office conduct separate criminal investigations.

The D.A.’s response team rolls out at the same time as local detectives after the shooting occurs. The D.A. produces a finding based on both the police investigation and its own investigation, to determine if the officers acted within the framework of the law.

If it is determined the officers acted outside that framework, prosecutors determine if criminal charges should be filed against the involved officers.

City officials have been waiting for Gascón’s office to make a determination on the officer-involved shooting of Anthony McClain.

McClain, a passenger in a car pulled over by police, was fatally shot by a Pasadena police officer on Aug. 15, 2020 while fleeing from the scene.

After the driver and McClain were asked to step out of the car, McClain ran from officers. Police say McClain removed a handgun from his waistband as he fled, prompting Officer Edwin Dumaguindin to open fire. McClain continued running a short distance before tossing a handgun across the street and collapsing, according to police.

Some local residents say they don’t see a gun in body-worn camera footage of the incident. McClain’s DNA was recovered from a pistol that police seized at the scene, according to police.

The city reached a $7.5 million settlement with the family in November.

The nearly two-year-long DA investigation has gone on twice as long as the probe of other local fatal police shooting incidents.

According to the letter, over the last five years, the District Attorney’s Office has averaged 2.5 years to complete its findings on individual incidents, with some taking as many as four years to complete.

It took the D.A.’s office about nine months to clear the police officers in the 2012 Kendrec McDade shooting.

The fatal shots were fired after a brief car and foot pursuit ended on Sunset Avenue near Orange Grove Boulevard. The pursuit began after a man named Oscar Carrillo-Gonzales told a 911 dispatcher that McDade and a companion robbed him at gunpoint.

The officers, believing McDade was armed, shot the teen seven times. Local investigators spent 48 hours searching for McDade’s weapon. Ultimately, Carrillo-Gonzales admitted to lying when he told the dispatcher that McDade was harmed.

Investigations at the district attorney’s office into the shootings of Maurice Clark and Leroy Barnes were also concluded in less than a year.

On April 24, 2004, a Pasadena police officer fatally shot Clark shortly before midnight after a foot pursuit that ended in a carport in the 300 block of West Howard Street. Clark fired his weapon at a Pasadena police officer who returned fire at the muzzle flash striking Clark in the upper torso, according to police.

The district attorney’s office cleared the police officers seven months later. The FBI cleared the officer who fired the fatal shot two years later in 2006.

Five years later, the DA’s office cleared the police officers that fatally shot Leroy Barnes after nine months.

Police shot Barnes 11 times — seven times in the back — after he refused to remove his hands from a backpack. One of the officers entered the backseat and attempted to take Barnes’ hands out of his backpack, which contained a gun. A struggle ensued.

Barnes gained control of the weapon, fell out of the car and brandished the gun, but was shot before he could fire his weapon.

“We do not seek a rush to judgment in the review of OIS matters, but nothing appears to be happening to speed up the multi-year backlog that seems to stretch on endlessly, with the delays getting worse every year,” the letter states. “Sound, consistent policies and sufficient, dedicated staff support are needed.”