Kendrec McDade
Birth date:
May 2, 1992
Death date:
March 24, 2012
Age at Death:
19
About
Kendrec McDade was a star football player at Azusa High School. Outside of football, he also enjoyed running track. He was attending Citrus College in Glendora, California at the time of his passing. Kendrec is survived by his younger brother, born just days before his death, a younger sister, his father, and his mother, Anya Slaughter.
Kendrec's mom dropped him off in Pasadena for an overnight visit with his father. Before his visit, he was stopping by to visit a girl on Orange Grove Boulevard.
Around 11:00 pm, a person called 911 claiming he had been help up at gun point and his backpack with his computer stolen. Later, this caller admitted he lied about the gun to get faster support. When the police arrived, they saw Kendrec and assumed he was the suspect. Instead of turning on their speaker or their lights, they started chasing him with their car and one of the officers chased him on foot. He ran into an alley and then tried to run out. The officer in the car, thinking Kendrec had a gun shot him multiple times, at which point the officer on foot, thinking Kendrec was firing, shot him 3 times in his BACK. No gun was found because Kendrec didn't have one, nor had he stolen the backpack.
The police were never held accountable and the Pasadena police department fought to keep the results of an inquiry from being made public. The family subsequently sued the city of Pasadena resulting in a settlement of $850,000.
was sitting in a car looking out for a friend who was robbing another car. The car owner then called the police and stated that the two men had a gun (a statement which the caller later stated they fabricated to get the police there quicker). The police then came and identified Kendrec as a suspect which led to a chase. As the police chased Kendrec, they did not turn on their police sirens or lights which would have activated cameras--which means there is no footage of the interaction. They also did not use a loudspeaker to communicate with Kendrec nor did they call for any backup. Kendrec then began walking towards the car and the officer believed he reached for a weapon which led to him shooting Kendrec four times at close range--no weapon was ever recovered from Kendrec's body. The officer's partner heard the shots and believed that Kendrec was attacking their partner and subsequently fired three more shots into Kendrec.
Was justice served?
No. The police officers were handed back their badges and allowed to get back to work. Kendrec's family has filed a suit against the Pasadena Police Department for wrongful death.The LA County DA has stated that the shooting was lawful and has declined to press charges for involuntary manslaughter. As of February 2021, justice has not been served.