Floyd family joins shooting protest

Survivors of Anthony McClain, killed by police in August, receive support for brutality claim

The families of Anthony McClain and George Floyd took to the steps of Pasadena City Hall on Monday, where in front of dozens of supporters they called for the firing of the police officer who fatally shot McClain as he ran from an Aug. 15 traffic stop in the northwestern part of the city.

“We are going to fight for justice,” said Diondra Williams, mother of McClain’s 2-year-old daughter, Skilynn, whom attorneys say McClain, 32, was talking with via Facetime on his phone 15 minutes before the stop.

For McClain’s family, his attorneys and supporters, justice means the firing of Edwin Dumaguindin, the officer who shot McClain, and legal action against all officers involved.

“He didn’t pass of a natural cause. He was killed by a police officer that should be locked up,” said Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, an unarmed Minneapolis Black man who was killed by former police Officer Derek Chauvin. A jury in April convicted Chauvin of murder.

Philonise Floyd said the video evidence in his brother’s case — which fueled nationwide outcry against police brutality over the summer of 2020 — mirrored the video in the McClain shooting.

“Anthony has the same video,” he exclaimed amid chants of “Say his name: Anthony McClain.” “The man ran out of his shoes and was shot in the back.”

Pasadena officials canceled Monday’s City Council meeting “out of an abundance of caution” for its staff, which cleared City Hall.

Organizers of the demonstration — attorneys and Black Lives Matter leaders — wanted to speak during the council’s public comment period. But because the meetings are still virtual amid the pandemic, they would not have been able to speak inside council chambers.

The Police Department declined to comment, deferring to a city spokesperson.

“The City of Pasadena supports the rights of all people to freely and peacefully express their views,” a city statement on the matter read. “As has been the City’s practice in recent months, when there are large demonstrations in our civic center, city hall and other municipal buildings are closed. The county courthouse has done similarly. Since offices will be closed, it will be necessary to cancel today’s regularly scheduled City Council meeting.”

McClain of Pasadena was shot and killed by police as he fled a traffic stop initiated by two Pasadena officers near Raymond Avenue and Grandview Street. During

the stop, according to edited video released by police, the driver of the car stopped by police admitted to driving without a license. A passenger in the car, identified as McClain, stepped out of the car and began to sprint away from the officers.

Police Chief John Perez released video taken from an officer-worn body camera before the state’s 45-day time limit for making video of critical incidents public. He also released the name of the officer in the shooting.

Police say in an edited, eight-minute video, a combination of body-worn and dashboard video, that the object McClain held in his waistband, and later in his left hand, was a handgun. Police say that’s why they fired.

It is not clear from the video whether the shiny object was indeed a gun, though McClain is seen with his left hand at his waist as he begins to run from the officers. Police pointed to “surveillance video” captured in the neighborhood that they said showed McClain had “thrown his firearm” across Raymond Avenue, adjacent to La Pintoresca Park.

Police did note in the video that the evidence was subject to change as new evidence emerges.

Attorneys for McClain’s family, however, say he was holding his belt buckle. Attorneys have alleged suspicious circumstances over the gun, which they say is not tied to McClain.

In a lawsuit, Archie Barry, who identifies himself as McClain’s father, alleges that police leadership “ratified, condoned and acquiesced in the filing of false police reports” and the “falsification of evidence,” including planting evidence to cover up negligent uses of force.

The narrated video on the city’s website is accompanied by unedited versions of dashboard video and bodycamera video.

The shooting of McClain sparked protests and prompted legal action alleging that officers acted illegally and used excessive force.

The shooting remains under review by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, and is subject to the Pasadena department’s own review and that of the city’s own third-party audit.

Since the shooting, the city has begun to empanel a civilian police commission to oversee the department, a process nearing conclusion after years of debate.

Perez announced last week that he is retiring next year, but said his decision is not linked to the McClain case or other issues facing the department.

Before the McClain shooting, pressure on the department ramped up after two Pasadena officers were cleared by an internal investigation in the beating of Christopher Ballew after a traffic stop at an Altadena gas station in 2017. The two were allowed to return to work as full-fledged officers, the department announced in a statement April 5.

Attorneys on Monday went further back than that, alleging a pattern of brutality in the Pasadena department that predates McClain and Ballew.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the Floyd family and for members of the McClain family, decried the incident as the latest in a series of U.S. cases in which police shot a fleeing Black man from behind.

“How many of these cowards are going to continue to shoot Black men in the back?” he asked.

Speakers on Monday presented McClain as a human being who loved his children and wanted them to have a better life than his.

“He was just talking to Skilynn. … He was always Facetiming his kids . ... He always told them, I want you to be better than me,” said Williams, flanked by McClain’s children — daughter Skilynn, eldest son Bryce and son Anthony McClain Jr.

“We won’t stop until we get better policing. Until these cops stop killing Black men and women. Until then, we won’t shut up,” said Brandon Williams, Floyd’s nephew.

Attorneys vowed to come back to the City Council to continue the push for action.

Their audience Monday was a robust crowd of supporters, many hoisting protest signs and chanting.

Among them was George Clinton, the funk music icon and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honoree.

“We are a nation under one groove,” he said of McClain. “We cannot let him down.”