Joseph Koch Stanley Gaines speaks to protestors at a rally in front of Claremont City Hall. Many present come every Wednesday, seeking further inquiry into the shooting of Irvin Landrum, Jr. by CPD officers in January.

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Rallies protesting the January 11 shooting of Irvin Landrum, Jr. by two Claremont police officers continue each Wednesday in front of City Hall. The controversy surrounding the shooting and subsequent death of Landrum, a 19-year-old black man and father, is the latest in a series of charges of police murder that have been cropping up all over the country.

A flyer distributed by the Landrum family claims Landrum was "shot down like a dog" by racist police officers. The Claremont Police Department and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office have stated that the shooting was justified, but the family and friends of Landrum challenge this conclusion, charging corrupt and inadequate investigation techniques. The Irvin Landrum, Jr. Justice Organizing Committee is attempting to get a thorough and fair investigation by an objective party. They believe that an investigation of this nature would show that the killing was racially motivated, contrary to claims of the CPD.

At one a.m. on January 11th, Claremont Officer Hany Hanna was going west on Baseline Avenue. Landrum’s car, travelling east, passed Hanna’s car going 63 miles per hour in a 40-mph zone. Hanna stopped Landrum east of Forbes Avenue after turning around and observing him swerve erratically. Landrum did not have a driver’s license, was driving a car with expired registration, and was on probation for carrying a concealed weapon. Around 1:05 am, Officer Kent Jacks arrived on the scene according to CPD standard operating procedure, in which a second officer assists in traffic stops when available. Officer Hanna proceeded to write a ticket citing Landrum’s expired registration and lack of a license. According to Hanna’s report, Landrum refused to sign the citation. The report also states that when Hanna attempted to pat Landrum down, Landrum took two steps back and reached into his waistband and brandished a gun. Hanna’s report goes on to say that he heard something to the effect of "No, No, I’m going to kill you" and a noise that he thought was a gunshot. He also reports that he saw a muzzle flash and then fired twice, striking Landrum both times once in the clavicle area. Pitzer student Eli Hastings 00, who is involved in the protests, reports that the trajectory of this bullet is inconsistent with the officers’ story of self-defense. Officer Jacks then fired his weapon twelve times, hitting Landrum only once, on the ankle.

According to eyewitness testimony, Jacks then held a shotgun to Landrum and called the dispatcher at 1:07 am, reporting that a suspect was down. Officer Shelly Vander Veen arrived on the scene next, at around 1:10 am where she found Landrum lying on his back in ivy ten to 15 feet from a curb, with a gunshot wound and a revolver near his feet. Landrum was taken to Pomona Valley Medical Hospital Medical Center and listed in extremely critical condition. He died on January 27.

The family requested FBI involvement in the ensuing investigation. This investigation is still incomplete, but the investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, homicide division, concluded that the shooting was justified and that the facts were consistent with the reports of the officers. Two detectives from the Sheriff’s Office, Gerald Biehn and Thomas Kerfoot, were assigned to investigate the facts of the incident. Their primary source for the sequence and nature of events was a recording made on Officer Jack’s personal microcassette recorder. After listening to the tapes, Detective Biehn said that he heard the words "You’re both dead" just before the shooting. However, other investigators were unable to discern any such phrase.

The family and friends of Irvin Landrum, Jr., as well as several local civil rights organizations, feel that this investigation was inadequate and not objective. Several people perceive inconsistencies that were not resolved by the investigation.

One example is that despite Hanna’s report that he had seen a muzzle flash, the gun found near Landrum’s body had never been fired. According to several sources, there are also inconsistencies between the officers’ story and the bullet’s trajectory into Landrum. One of the bullets from Hanna’s gun entered into the upper shoulder region. The trajectory of the bullet indicates that the shot either came from directly above or while the suspect was lying down.

An additional inconsistency is that no fingerprints were found on the gun near Landrum’s body. However, several forensic experts have claimed that this is not a significant fact, as the likelihood of finding fingerprints on a gun is small.

The family is pressing for an independent group, such as Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to investigate the facts of the case for evidence of possible wrongdoing on the part of the police. The family is calling the shooting a murder and plans to file suit against the two officers and the city for one million dollars.

A flyer distributed by Obee Landrum, the deceased’s uncle, states, "We want the truth in investigative reporting, not police covering for police. Support our efforts to bring light to this shameful practice." Many of Landrum’s supporters also feel that the two officers should be suspended pending the conclusion of the independent investigation.

In order to promote their cause, committees protesting the death of Irvin Landrum, Jr. have been holding rallies in front of the Claremont City Hall each Wednesday at ten am. The rallies started with between ten and 40 people and have grown much larger in recent weeks.

At present there is little student involvement in this protest, but the organizers are trying to mobilize more students. This incident is seen as the latest in a string of police brutality allegations around the country and the Los Angeles area in particular. Organizers of the Irvim Landrum committee are working in conjunction with friends of Tyesha Miller, who was shot six times by Riverside police officers upon awakening from a diabetic coma.

These organizations will continue to have weekly rallies as well as two planned teach-ins, at one of which Jesse Jackson will speak. In addition to these weekly rallies, the Irvin Landrum, Jr. Justice Organizing Committee and the Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies of the Claremont Colleges are hosting an open forum on police-community relations on Saturday, September 25, 1999 from three to six pm.

Additionally, many other civic organizations and groups have begun to complain of racial profiling by the Claremont Police Department. Police Chief Robert Moody denies that officers are asked to use race as a determining factor in making traffic stops. At a community forum held this Saturday, many Claremont residents and professors spoke of racial profiling on the part of the Claremont Police Department. Hastings, a senior at Pitzer College, reported that at the forum some speakers had voiced severak grievances specifically against Hanna and Jacks.