Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Thursday signed an executive order directing the state attorney general reopen the investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old unarmed Black man who was killed last year after police put him into a chokehold.
"Elijah McClain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern," Polis said in a statement. There have been renewed calls for justice in the case following George Floyd's death late last month while in police custody.
On Aug. 24, McClain, a massage therapist, was walking down a street in Aurora, Colorado, after going to a store and buying iced tea. McClain had a blood disorder, and his sister, Samara McClain, said because he would get cold easily, he often wore a ski mask. Police received a call about McClain, with the person saying he looked "suspicious" because of the mask.
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Police body camera footage captured an officer pulling over and approaching McClain, telling him he had "a right to stop you because you're being suspicious." Police said McClain fought back, and a second officer moved to restrain him. McClain is heard sobbing throughout the video, explaining that he was listening to music and was trying to turn it off when the officer approached him.
McClain begs for the officers to stop, and tells them, "Let go of me. I am an introvert. Please respect the boundaries that I am speaking." He is also heard saying several times, "I'm just different." An officer put him in a chokehold, and he was on the ground for 15 minutes, as officers and paramedics stood nearby. He eventually received an injection of the sedative ketamine, and suffered cardiac arrest while on the way to the hospital. Doctors declared him brain dead on Aug. 27, and he was removed from life support on Aug. 30.
A forensic pathologist was unable to determine the exact cause of death, but said "physical exertion during the confrontation likely contributed," The Associated Press reports. The three white officers involved in McClain's death were put on leave, but after District Attorney Dave Young said he did not see enough evidence to support charging them, they returned to the force. Polis' decision to reopen the case was applauded by Mari Newman, the McClain family attorney. "Clearly, Aurora has no intention of taking responsibility for murdering an innocent young man," she told AP. "Its entire effort is to defend its brutality at all costs, and to lie to the public it is supposed to serve. It is time for a responsible adult to step in."
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