Kendrec McDade
Act with caution. Know your rights. When he was just 14 years old, Kendrec McDade's mother told him: "I fear for you. I want to protect you. I want you to have better than me. I want you to have everything I had and more." To the police that shot him, he was simply just a black face, but they had no idea how much Mcdade had meant to his family and friends. "He was a lovable person. Honest, trustworthy, funny, gifted, and talented," described Kendrec's mother, Anya Slaughter.
Kendrec was 19 and had just transferred to Pasadena City College. He was a star American- football player. He was on the local paper and had a big dream of going professional. His backup plan was to study to be a lawyer. In order to fulfill his dreams, he had taken on a part-time job as a landscape gardener that started the following Monday. "He was on this journey of becoming a phenomenal young man," Slaughter said. He loved having his mother's spaghetti and had a huge appetite, usually eating for 2 or 3. All in all, McDade had a bright future ahead of him
A false report from a caller in Pasadena that day was what caused the fatal death of Kendrec Mcdade. Before 11 pm on March 24, 2012, a caller reported the theft of a backpack and laptop and falsely claimed that the thief had a gun. He has later admitted that he lied about the gun, and that it was a false report in order to get a quicker response from the police. When the report was made, McDade was on Orange Grove Boulevard, which was near where the call was made. The officers Matthew Griffen and Jeffrey Newlen thought McDade was one of the suspects and chased him. When he ran away the police chased him in their patrol cars but did not turn on their emergency lights or siren nor use a loudspeaker to tell him to stop. Note that according to the independent review "...in Pasadena police vehicles, activating lights and sirens automatically activates the in-car video camera." Because of this, there is no video footage of what happened. Although they claimed that they were scared for their lives neither one had called for backup or radio that they were chasing a possible armed suspect. They had chased McDade into an alleyway. Newlen decided to chase on foot and Griffin had stayed in the car. Kendrec McDade started to run back to the patrol car and Griffin says that he looked like he was reaching for a weapon on his waistband and shot him through the window. Newlen claimed that he thought McDade had fired at his partner so he had shot him 3 more times and later handcuffed him. Kendrec was then sent to the hospital where his time of death was five minutes past midnight.
After the fatal incident the Pasadena Police Department spent two days looking for a laptop and firearm, but nothing was found. The police were given their badges and went back to work. Everything just simply went back to normal for them but it was different for Anya. From the day that she had known her son died it was like spending the remaining days of her life nursing a pain that will never go away. Kendrec's parents had decided to file a lawsuit. They were paid $850,000, but no charges on either one of the officers.
Kendrec's parents had decided to file a lawsuit. They were paid $850,000, but no charges on either one of the officers.
No amount of money can buy back the precious life of Kendrec Mcdade. According to Pasadena Star News "Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant granted the Pasadena Police Officers' Association a temporary restraining order prohibiting the city from releasing the report." Richard Shinee reasoned that the documents contained confidential information that would violate the police's rights if they were released. Anya had filed a lawsuit for the story of her precious baby to be released. She lives in pain ever since she knew her son, that she held and loved so dearly, had died with no justice served. She fights for his story to be told and known to as many people as possible. The experience of losing a child demolishes people. The impact has cost Anya the rest of her life living in pain and suffering while the police were easily just let off the hook. "I cried everyday for 29 months straight"- Anya Slaughter.
Racism has never ended. We will only fight until justice is served for these innocent lives that were lost. Our founding fathers had wanted us as a strong united nation, not a place where people need to fear for their lives. Awareness needs to be spread and something needs to be done. Justice needs to be served.
Author: Linda Li
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Resources
https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2014/09/26/pasadena-police-reports-detail-kendrec-mcdade-shooting/