Lloyd Nelson, Jr. (Photo – PPD)
A report released by Richard Rosenthal, an independent police auditor, on September 30th, finally provides details of the fatal shooting of Lloyd Nelson, Jr. on May 8, 2020.
By Nicolas Perez
The auditor stated that he agrees that the shooting, at the intersection of Allen Avenue and Corson Street in Pasadena, was within policy and justified. All officers present at the scene were found to have operated withing their legal bounds for their use-of-force, although lapses in protocol occurred during the exchange of fire with the suspect. One officer was struck in the shin by a colleague’s gunfire, while another did not activate his bodycam until after the shooting had occurred.
An administrative review and personal interviews of the officers involved were conducted three days after the incident, followed by an extended period of inactivity of over three years in addressing the issues of the incident. On July 5th of 2023, the District Attorney finally cleared the officers of any criminal conduct during the incident. This extended period of time between the initial investigation and the findings of the D.A. undermines a timely administrative investigation, which is used to assess conduct during incidents and how to modify policy and procedures to reduce risk to the officers and the public.
The auditor criticized the long delay in adjudicating this case, and repeated his recommendation from earlier audits that the police department not wait for the DA, but rather conduct concurrent investigations of all police-related incidents. Mr. Rosenthal emphasizes how the lack of attention to the incident and delay in holding the officers accountable can undermine trust in law enforcement. He also pointed out that it took a further nine months to conduct an administrative investigation, and a further three to conduct a use of force review and publish the memo regarding what was addressed.
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