Pasadena Man Lies to Police, Gets Manslaughter Charge After Police Shoot Suspect
Oscar Carrillo lied to police, said teen had gun.
March 29, 2012— -- An alleged robbery victim has been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter after his 911 call falsely claiming he was robbed at gunpoint led police to shoot an unarmed suspect, prosecutors charged.
Oscar Carrillo, 26, of Pasadena, Calif., admitted to police he lied about two suspects being armed when he called 911 to report the robbery of his laptop.
"Two guys just stole my backpack and put a gun in my face right now," Carrillo told the dispatcher in the 911 recording.
Carrillo said he made the allegation to speed up police response.
Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez called for an independent review into the shooting on Wednesday.The Los Angeles County District Attorney's officer-involved shooting team is also investigating the incident.
"The actions of the 9-1-1 caller set the minds of officers," Sanchez said at a press conference.
Carillo called the cops last Saturday and told the dispatcher he was following the suspects in his car. When police arrived, both teens took off in different directions.
One of the teens, Kendrec McDade, reached toward his waistband and police, fearing he had a gun, opened fire and killed him.
McDade, 19, was unarmed.
"When you gun him down from inside your patrol car like he's a dog in the street, the community is outraged," Caree Harper, who is an attorney representing McDade's family, told ABCNews.com.
She said she couldn't rule out racial motivations in the shooting.
The two officers involved in the shooting, whose names have not been released, are on paid administrative leave. The race of the officers was not immediately known.
A 17-year-old, the alleged second suspect, was arrested and charged with two counts of commercial burglary and one count of grand theft.
Police have not recovered the alleged stolen backpack, however KABC reported police said surveillance video shows the teens were involved in a theft.
Harper said that with much of the attention on Carrillo's arrest, the actions of the officers deserve more scrutiny.
"They're held to a higher standard. They are the ones whose fingers are on the trigger," she said. "Those officers are independently in control of people who they shoot."
Harper said she believes the police need to be working much more swiftly.
"I want my client, the minor client who is being held in custody to be released immediately. I want the surveillance tapes to be released immediately," she said. "And I want the chief to stop accusing my dead client of allegedly being involved in any criminal activity."
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