Elijah McClain was a massage therapist who lived in Aurora, CO. He played guitar and loved music; he would often play his guitar to dogs at a nearby shelter. He also listened to music quite often and would 'dance' as he walked. He was black, weighted 140 pounds and was 5' 6". He was anemic and often wore sweaters and hats even when it was warm out.
On Aug 24 2019 he was walking home. A neighbor called the police, saying that a man was wearing a ski mask and "waving his arms" but he did not look like a threat and they did not see any weapons. Police responded.
When police approached him, they pushed him face first into a wall. The police report claims that he was reaching for an officer's gun. However, the audio captured by the police body cameras recorded the officer saying that he did not remember feeling that.
At that point two of the police body cameras had "fallen off" the police, and the third one did not record any useful video (although all three continued to record audio.) When the two police realized that the third officer still had his camera on, they asked him to move the camera. It then "fell off" as well.
They then moved him to the ground and applied a carotid control hold. Elijah said several times that he could not breathe. They continued the hold. At one point all three police officers were on top of him. He vomited and then apologized, saying "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to do that. I just can't breathe correctly."
Paramedics arrived and, at request of police, injected him with 500mg of ketamine to sedate him. (The safe dose would have been 320mg for his body weight.) They did this because police said he was "acting crazy" he was "definitely on something" and he had "incredible, crazy strength." However, he was already handcuffed and was face-down on the ground when paramedics arrived.
When they moved him to the ambulance a few minutes later they realized that he was not breathing. He was pronounced brain dead three days later and died three days after that.
The police initially did nothing. They investigated the incident and cleared all three officers.
In June of 2020, almost a year later, 820,000 people signed a petition to investigate the death again and remove the three officers from duty. The police response was that they "don't open up investigations based on petitions." They moved the officers to a less public facing role to try to tamp down the public furor.
At the end of June three officers re-enacted what they did to Elijah and took a picture. They posted the picture, and one of the officers posted "haha." The police chief said that he was "trying to cheer up a friend" with that comment on the picture.
In 2021 the City Council launched its own investigation. They determined that "police and paramedics made substantial errors at nearly every stage" and they "stretched the truth to exonerate the officers involved." They also pointed out that the audio (and small amount of video) contradicted the officer's story.
Over two years after his death, a Colorado grand jury returned a 32-count indictment against the two paramedics and three officers. They are charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault.
On Aug 24 2019 he was walking home. A neighbor called the police, saying that a man was wearing a ski mask and "waving his arms" but he did not look like a threat and they did not see any weapons. Police responded.
When police approached him, they pushed him face first into a wall. The police report claims that he was reaching for an officer's gun. However, the audio captured by the police body cameras recorded the officer saying that he did not remember feeling that.
At that point two of the police body cameras had "fallen off" the police, and the third one did not record any useful video (although all three continued to record audio.) When the two police realized that the third officer still had his camera on, they asked him to move the camera. It then "fell off" as well.
They then moved him to the ground and applied a carotid control hold. Elijah said several times that he could not breathe. They continued the hold. At one point all three police officers were on top of him. He vomited and then apologized, saying "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to do that. I just can't breathe correctly."
Paramedics arrived and, at request of police, injected him with 500mg of ketamine to sedate him. (The safe dose would have been 320mg for his body weight.) They did this because police said he was "acting crazy" he was "definitely on something" and he had "incredible, crazy strength." However, he was already handcuffed and was face-down on the ground when paramedics arrived.
When they moved him to the ambulance a few minutes later they realized that he was not breathing. He was pronounced brain dead three days later and died three days after that.
The police initially did nothing. They investigated the incident and cleared all three officers.
In June of 2020, almost a year later, 820,000 people signed a petition to investigate the death again and remove the three officers from duty. The police response was that they "don't open up investigations based on petitions." They moved the officers to a less public facing role to try to tamp down the public furor.
At the end of June three officers re-enacted what they did to Elijah and took a picture. They posted the picture, and one of the officers posted "haha." The police chief said that he was "trying to cheer up a friend" with that comment on the picture.
In 2021 the City Council launched its own investigation. They determined that "police and paramedics made substantial errors at nearly every stage" and they "stretched the truth to exonerate the officers involved." They also pointed out that the audio (and small amount of video) contradicted the officer's story.
Over two years after his death, a Colorado grand jury returned a 32-count indictment against the two paramedics and three officers. They are charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault.
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