In a stunning report, the city of Aurora, Colorado has determined that its own police department failed to properly investigate its own failure to “capture” an innocent, peace-loving black 23-year-old walking down the street with a ski-mask on (for warmth) without killing him.
The results of the new investigation were publicized this morning:
DENVER (AP) — The results of an investigation into the fatal arrest of Elijah McClain in suburban Denver released Monday criticizes how police handled the entire incident, faulting officers for their quick, aggressive treatment of the 23-year-old Black man and the department overall for having a weak accountability system that failed to press for the truth about what happened.
The findings of the investigation commissioned by the city of Aurora released on Monday found “two contrasting stories” of what happened to McClain in August 2019 after someone reported him as suspicious. One, based on officers’ statements to investigators, where police describe a violent, relentless struggle. And another based on body camera footage in which McClain can be heard crying out in pain, apologizing, explaining himself, and pleading with the officers as they restrained him and applied “pain compliance” techniques like wrist locks and sat or kneeled on him.
“Forgive me ... you all are phenomenal, you are beautiful,” McClain said at one point, the report said.
www.usnews.com/...
Pathetic, tardy, and hardly comforting. Elijah has been dead for 18 months. The only police who have faced any discipline are three officers who were caught taking “smiling selfies and reenacting the carotid hold at a memorial site for McClain.” Yes. They went there.
McClain’s death has brought attention to the sedative drug ketamine, which has been increasingly used for law enforcement purposes to calm people down. In fact, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is reviewing the program that allows ketamine to be administered in similar situations. McClain was injected with 500 mg. of the drug, although he had remained completely silent for the preceding 60 seconds. That is what led to his death 3 days later.
The investigation found the police made no attempt at physical contact, examination or questioning before asking the paramedics to administer the ketamine to McClain.
In November of 2019, District Attorney Dave Young declined to press charges against the officers involved, citing the autopsy. "I cannot take a case to the jury where I don't know what the cause of death is on a homicide case," he told
CNN's Chris Cuomo in June 2020.
But the Black Lives Matter protests this last year brought renewed attention to the case, and in June, Gov. Jared Polis appointed state Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate as a special prosecutor. Weiser opened a grand jury investigation into
McClain's death last month.
Justice may not have been served, but somebody is gonna pay for that hellish trip. Please, let it be a lot.
RIP, Elijah.
BLACK LIVES MATTER.