Colorado governor says special prosecutor will investigate 2019 death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain while in police custody.
Calls are growing for a new investigation into the death of McClain, a 23-year-old black man who died after an encounter with police in Colorado last year.As the world sees unprecedented protests calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism in the name of George Floyd, a Black man who died while in police custody, the death of another Black man who was detained by police has received renewed attention.
McClain was walking home after buying iced tea at a corner store on August 24, 2019, when he was stopped by police, Newman said. The Aurora Police Department released this body cam footage with the description "This is the Body Worn Camera footage from the August 24, 2019 contact with Elijah McClain."
During the struggle, one officer shouts that McClain had tried to reach for another officer's gun, according to the body camera footage. Paramedics with the Aurora Fire Department were called to the scene, which is department policy after the application of a carotid control hold. According to Young's letter, paramedics said that McClain remained combative and possibly suffered from a condition called excited delirium. McClain was later administered, by paramedics, what Newman alleged was an"excessive dose" of ketamine, which is used by medical practitioners and veterinarians as an anesthetic.
"Even though he was totally restrained on the ground, the Aurora paramedics injected him with a dosage of ketamine," Newman said."It was certainly not appropriate because he wasn't acting in any out-of-control way" when the ketamine was administered. Young told"Good Morning America" on Thursday that he would only reopen the case if it were relevant to the investigation.
"Ultimately, while I may share the vast public opinion that Elijah McClain’s death could have been avoided, it is not my role to file criminal charges based on opinion, but rather, on the evidence revealed from the investigation and applicable Colorado law," he added.
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