Stephanie Butzer joined the Denver7 team as a digital producer in June 2018 and is now the senior digital producer.
Denver7 is following the second of three trials in the case of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old unarmed Black man who died a few days after he was violently arrested by Aurora police on Aug. 24, 2019.
He was declared brain dead days later and died Aug. 30, 2019. A pathologist found he was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for somebody of his size and, as a result, he overdosed. The City of Aurora settled a civil lawsuit with McClain’s family in November 2021 for $15 million. The lung expert said he does not know how much of the aspiration happened when police initially encountered McClain compared to the struggle with police or the ambulance ride. But he said he does know that some aspiration happened early in the interaction with law enforcement officers because of McClain's mask and the obvious stomach contents in it.
Part of Beuther's job includes filling out death certificates, which he did after McClain died. This included giving an opinion on the cause of death. He recalled that he listed the cause of death, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, as a combination of several factors. The most severe factor was ketamine, which"knocked out his ability to breathe completely," Beuther said.
Beuther said McClain did not appear to have any trouble breathing as seen from the surveillance footage from the Shell station, where he bought iced teas before walking home and encountering police. He acknowledged that a video can only show so much, though. Downing asked if it was impossible to know the exact time McClain experienced aspiration. Beuther responded that he felt very confident it occurred early, when the mask was still on McClain's face, and that there were multiple subsequent episodes.
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Trial begins for 3rd officer charged in connection with Elijah McClain's deathThe second trial in connection with the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain following an altercation with Aurora, Colorado, police began Tuesday.
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