On Friday, the FBI announced it would launch a civil rights investigation into the death of a college student who was unarmed and shot by Pasadena police. A spokesperson from the FBI said the inquiry was independent of a call by Phillip Sanchez, the Police Chief of Pasadena for the FBI to investigate the shooting that killed Kendrec McDade.
In addition, another spokesperson added, “The agency will assess the incident of March 24, 2012 that involved the police department of Pasadena, which resulted in Kendrec McDade’s death. The FBI will try and determine if a violation of a civil rights law contributed to his death.”
On March 24, Pasadena police took a call of a reported armed robbery close to Orange Grove Boulevard. Two Pasadena officers shot and killed McDade shortly after taking the report of the robbery. According to police reports, McDade had been a suspect in the armed robbery, but at the time he was shot and killed, he was unarmed.
In a statement, Police Chief Sanchez said, “The FBI will be offering a completely independent review of what happened on March 24.”
At the same time, the police department is conducting its own independent inquiry, as is the district attorney’s office of Los Angeles County and the OIRG or Office of Independent Review Group.
