Legislation triggered by the Pasadena Police Department shooting of Anthony McClain and the 2019 Poway synagogue shooting is on the way to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Pasadena’s state Sen. Anthony Portantino introduced Senate Bill 715 in February to allow state prosecutors the chance to investigate police shootings resulting in a civilian’s death so long as there is a reasonable dispute as to whether that civilian was armed.
Portantino said in a news release at the time that SB 715 was prompted in part by a summer shooting in Pasadena when a local police officer killed McClain as he ran from a traffic stop.
After recovering a gun on the scene and later linking it to McClain with DNA tests, officers say he was holding a gun as he ran and posed a threat to officers. Lawyers for McClain’s family dispute that account.
Existing laws only allow state prosecutors to investigate if police officers shoot an indisputably unarmed civilian, but the governor’s signature on SB 715 would expand the independent review of police shootings, according to Portantino.
“As Pasadenans came together to commemorate the one year since Anthony McClain’s death, it highlighted the need for the type of independent investigation outlined in our bill as well,” Portantino said in a news release Wednesday, mentioning a second component of the legislation would also help prevent shootings like the one occurring in a Poway synagogue in 2019 by ensuring expired hunting licenses are included in a 10-day background check process as well.
“We have a gun violence epidemic in our country and sadly it has become all too common to see senseless violence in the news,” the senator said during the bill’s introduction. “California leads the country in combating gun violence, but there is more we can do.”
Portantino said he is hopeful “that with sensible measures, we can prevent tragic incidents of violence and further independent investigations when warranted.”
