MEMORANDUM-City of Pasadena
Police Department
April 17,2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Coimcil Members
From: Gene Harris, Police Chief
Re: OIR Review of PPD OIS
Involving Anthony McClain, Dated April 2023
Cc: Miguel Marquez, City Manager
On April 12, 2023, I received the final report regarding the "Independent Review of Officer-Involved Shooting of Anthony McClain." It was provided by the Office of Independent Review (OIR) and completed by Michael Gennaco and Teresa Magula. This report came after the OIR's exhaustive review of the incident, including the overall investigation, relevant reports, policies, procedures, practices, internal and external reviews, as well as audio, video, and other related evidence.
I wish to thank the City Council and the other stakeholders for their patience and insight during this process. I would also like to thank OIR, Mr. Gennaco, and Ms. Magula for their effort and attention in producing this report. Though the process and the resulting work product are the outcomes ofOIR's independent review and recommendations, they should be commended for the inclusiveness of the Police Department and other City personnel in ensuring the accuracy and completeness of all the information and inputs included and considered for review. The process was thorough, professional, and transparent by all who participated.
The review culminated with twenty-seven individual recommendations, which PD command staff, I, and various department Subject Matter Experts thoroughly reviewed.
After thoughtful analysis, there is Department agreement, either in whole or in part, with nearly all the recommendations. We have determined that the recommendations have been implemented either pre-incident, post-incident, post-initial review, or will be implemented moving forward. There are two recommendations upon which agreement does not exist, and one recommendation that is directed to the Community Police Oversight Commission (CPOC). A matrix of the OIR recommendations and Department responses is attached, including status updates for your review and information.
On behalf of the Police Department, I applaud the process and believe it will assist significantly in applying lessons learned moving forward as we provide enhanced policing services in the safest, most comprehensive, and most professional manner possible. All, while meeting or exceeding the needs and expectations of our community.
Attachment
PD Response Matrix
Attachment 2
PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE
To
OIR GROUP - INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE ANTHONY MCCLAIN OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING No.OIR RecommendationResponseComments
#1PPD should revise its investigative protocols to
ensure that its Administrative Investigation of
a deadly force incident is not delayed because
of either prosecutive review or civil
proceedings.
Agree
in
concept
Agree. Consideration will be on a case-by-
case analysis, determined by the Police
Chief, based on the circumstances and
factors related to the incident
#2PPD should align Policy 310 with its current
practice of conducting criminal investigations
of critical incidents/officer-involved shootings
in-house and remove the expectation that the
Los Angeles Sheriffs Department conduct
these investigations.
CompletedThe PPD resumed control ofOIS
investigations during this incident - on
8/15/2020. PPD subsequently amended
Policy 310 to reflect the change in criminal
investigative protocols
#3PPD should ensure that any after-action plan
relating to supervisory performance issues
include a briefing of supervisors on decisions
that went well and decisions that could have
been improved.
AgreePPD employs this recommendation as a
standard practice
#4PPD should revise its critical incident protocols
to ensure that once an officer-involved
shooting scene is secure, PPD should direct
any available officer to immediately sequester
involved officers and prevent those officers
from self-assigned roles in actual evidence
collection.
AgreePPD will sequester officers as soon as
practical once the scene is secure per
Procedure (310.2.1(c)4)
#5PPD should revise current policy to explicitly
require that all involved officers, to the extent
possible without compromising public safety,
shall be observed and sequestered until they
are able to provide a Public Safety Statement
to a supervisor, and then removed from the
immediate scene of an officer-involved
shooting, unless there is a special need to
assist with evidence location.
Agree
In
Concept
The current PPD Procedure (310) Officer
Involved Shootings already includes
obtaining a public safety statement as
soon as practical (310.2.l(b)) and that
supervisors sequester involved officers as
soon as practical for other investigative
interviews (310.2.1 (c)(2)(3))
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PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE
To
OIR GROUP - INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE ANTHONY MCCLAIN OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING No.OIR RecommendationResponseComments
#6PPD should continue to sequester and monitor
involved officers until they provide an
interview prior to being released from duty on
the date of the incident.
Agree
In
Concept
Agree, with case-by-case analysis
depending on reasonableness - time of the
incident during the involved officer(s)
shift, and POBR compliance
#7PPD should amend its critical incident
investigation policy to require prior to "end of
shift" interviews of involved and witness
officers, except in extraordinary
circumstances, such as when an officer is
significantly injured.
Agree
In
Concept
Agree, with case-by-case analysis
depending on reasonableness - time of the
incident during the involved officer(s)
shift, and POBR compliance
#8The city should revisit its agreement with the
PPOA requiring the Department to preview
recorded evidence with officers prior to being
interviewed about officer-involved shootings.
Agree
In
Concept
Agree, this will be revisited in the next
PPOA contract negotiations. The current
Labor MOD runs through June 30, 2026
#9PPD should direct officers to follow PPD
investigative protocols when conducting any
investigation. When deficiencies are
identified, PPD should conduct refresher
training on these investigative protocols
immediately.
AgreeCompleted training in December of 2022.
Applicable as soon as practical after each
critical incident
#10PPD should consider developing policy setting
out expectations for interviews, including the
prohibition on interviewing witnesses
together.
AgreeCurrent Practice and wilt be added to
Policy
#11PPD should make every effort to contact
potential witnesses to critical incidents and
gather all available evidence, including using
technology to allow witnesses to report or
submit information anonymously and
conducting a search for publicly available
video content.
AgreeCurrent Policy (600.3.l(b)(4)) and
Procedure (310.5)
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PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE
To
OIR GROUP - INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE ANTHONY MCCLAIN OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING No.OIR RecommendationResponseComments
#12In the recommended training, PPD should
make clear that witnesses are not suspects.
Officers should not run a witness' identity or
vehicle plates unless officers can articulate a
rationale for doing so.
DisagreeThis recommendation conflicts with #11.
Thorough investigations sometimes include
running witnesses and vehicle license plates
through dispatch or other investigative
applications. In some investigations, witnesses
can become suspects after investigators gather
evidence. Either way, officers and investigators
treat witnesses and suspects with
professionalism, dignity, and respect
#13When witness statements are paraphrased or
otherwise referenced in an officer-invotved
shooting investigation, press release, or other
media, PPD should ensure that they are a
complete representation of the witness'
statement.
AgreeWill be incorporated into practices and
procedures moving forward
#14PPD should ensure that critical incident
administrative investigations conduct
thorough interviews of all involved and
witness personnel to obtain a full and
complete account of all salient aspects of the
incident.
AgreeCurrent Policy (310.7) and Procedure
(310.2.4)
#15PPD should reference and include all
documentation used in Administrative
Investigations in reports and case files.
AgreeCurrent Policy (1020.6(d)(e)(f)) and
Practice
#16PPD should ensure that critical incident
Administrative Investigations address all
potential violations of policy identified.
AgreeCurrent Policy (302.2.1) and Practice
#17When evaluating uses of deadly force, the Use
of Force Review Board's analysis should
consider the relevant factors to be considered
under the Department's deadly force policy
and all available evidence to thoroughly assess
the decision to use force.
AgreeCurrent Policy (302, 302.2, 302.4) and
Practice
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PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE
To
OIR GROUP - INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE ANTHONY MCCLAIN OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING No.OIR RecommendationResponseComments
#18PPD should revise its force review policies to
require formal evaluation of any attendant
foot pursuits and evaluating whether or not
officers' actions align with the Department's
Foot Pursuit Policy.
AgreeCurrent Policy (302.2.l(a)) and Practice
#19PPD should conduct frequent and regular
training on the Foot Pursuit Policy, including
the preference for surveillance and
containment over engagement in foot
pursuits.
Agree
In
Concept
Agree with training. Surveillance and
containment are considered on a case-by-
case basis based on the facts known to the
involved officer at the time of the incident
#20The Community Police Oversight Commission
should convene community conversations to
formally discuss and consider the pros and
cons of PPD's use of pretext stops, especially
with regard to minor equipment violations.
Defer
to
CPOC
Defer to the Community Police Oversight
Commission
#21PPD should write policy that clearly defines
the role of a PPOA representative at critical
incident crime scenes.
DisagreeCircumstances and on-duty personnel will
dictate who is at the crime scene during a
critical incident. The department will
comply with the Police Officers Bill of
Rights (POBR)
#22PPD should prioritize community outreach,
including timely implementation of the
recommendations in the Board memorandum
relating to improving community relations.
AgreeThe PD Administrative Review Board
recognized that the Post-lncident
Community Outreach was in place at the
time of the incident. However, the PD
could have and should have done a better
job identifying and reaching out to
stakeholders
#23PPD Critical Incident Briefing videos should
only include information known to be accurate
and omit information of limited relevance
such as the criminal history of the individuals.
Agree
In
Concept
Agree on a case-by-case basis, as
sometimes the criminal history of an
offender is relevant to the incident (e.g.,
known registered sex offender, parolee,
probationer)
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PASADENA POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE
To
OIR GROUP - INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF THE ANTHONY MCCLAIN OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING No.OIR RecommendationResponseComments
#24PPD should evaluate the necessity of
handcuffing severely injured subjects and
consider developing training on this topic.
AgreePPD will evaluate current Policy (306)
#25PPD Should conduct a routine inventory of all
first aid equipment issued to officers to ensure
that first aid kits are complete and include
chest seals.
AgreePPD began conducting an inventory of first
aid kits and intends to have the
recommendation completed by the end of
the 2023 Calendar Year
#26PPD should create a workplan to implement
the recommendations that have come from
this incident to include task owners and a
timeline.
AgreeIn progress - work plan will be completed
by early Fiscal Year 2023-24
#27PPD should establish a mechanism to track
progress and ensure completion of tasks,
including providing regular public status
updates on the workplan for transparency and
accountability.
AgreeIn progress - tracking mechanism will be
established by the beginning of Fiscal Year
2023-24
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