DENVER – Three Denver suburban police officers and two paramedics were charged with homicide and other charges for the deaths of Elijah McClain, a black man who was put in a suffocation and injected with a powerful sedative two years ago , Colorado Attorney General said Wednesday.
The 23-year-old’s death drew attention during last year’s protests against racial injustice and police brutality following the assassination of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
McClain’s pleading words captured in the video of the police corps camera – “I’m different” – were posted on posters at the protests and were uttered by celebrities who joined those calling for the persecution of officers who went stop McClain as he walked down the city street. of Aurora after a person who called 911 reported that he looked suspicious.
Stories about McClain, a masseuse described by family and friends as a gentle and kind introvert, filled social media, including how he volunteered to play the violin to comfort cats at an animal shelter.
Aurora’s police department has been plagued with allegations of misconduct against people of color, including an officer accused this summer of whipping a black man during an arrest. The new head of the department has promised to rebuild public confidence.
Attorney General Phil Weiser said a grand jury charged officers Randy Roedema, Nathan Woodyard and Jason Rosenblatt and firefighter paramedic Jeremy Cooper and fired Lt. Peter Cichuniec on charges of homicide and manslaughter for criminal negligence.
Roedema and Rosenblatt were also charged with second-degree assault with intent to cause bodily harm and a felony of violence related to the assault charge. Cooper and Cichuniec also face three charges of second-degree assault.
The Associated Press has asked for comments from the defendants’ lawyers and police said they were working on a statement.
“Our goal is to seek justice for Elijah McClain, for his family and friends,” Weiser said at a brief press conference, where he asked no questions.
“He was a son, a nephew, a brother, a friend. When he died, he was only 23 years old, ”said Weiser. “He had his whole life ahead of him.”
Mother Sheneen McClain “is emotionally overwhelmed by this news and is grateful for the hard work of Phil Weiser and the rest of his team. Not a day goes by that he does not think of his son Elias, ”according to a statement from his lawyer, Qusair Mohamedbhai.
Faced with pressure during protests nationwide last year, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis ordered Weiser to open a new criminal investigation. A district attorney had said in 2019 that he could not charge officers because an autopsy could not determine how McClain died.
It was one of several investigations sparked, at least in part, by McClain’s death, including separate reviews commissioned by the city of Aurora and a thorough review by the police department. The attorney general’s office is also conducting a civil rights investigation into the agency, the first under a new Colorado police liability law.
Aurora’s highly critical review found no evidence to justify agents stopping McClain as he headed home from the store on August 24, 2019, after a person who called 911 had reported a man wearing a ski mask and shaking hands that seemed “incomplete.” His family said McClain wore the mask because he had anemia that made him catch a cold easily.
The video from the police station shows an officer approaching McClain on the sidewalk and saying, “I have a right to stop you because you suspect.”
The officer turns to McClain and says, “Relax, or I’ll have to change that situation.” While the other officers help stop McClain, he asks them to let go saying, “You guys started arresting me and I stopped my music to listen to it.”
Agents ’body cameras come off as they move McClain to the lawn, but an officer can be heard saying McClain grabbed one of his weapons. McClain tries to explain and sometimes cries or sobs. He says he can’t breathe and was on his way home.
“I am different. I’m different, that’s all. That’s all he did. I’m so sorry. I have no weapon. I don’t do that. I don’t fight. Why did you attack me? I don’t make weapons. I don’t even kill flies, ”he said.
One officer finally retrieves his camera, which shows McClain handcuffed, lying next to him and vomiting periodically while another officer leans on him.
Paramedics arrived and injected the 140-pound (63.5-kilogram) McClain with 500 milligrams of ketamine, more than 1 1/2 times the dose of its weight. The fire department is allowed to use the drug to sedate aggressive or combative people, but there is a lack of police training, conflicting medical rules and non-existent protocols that have resulted in hospitalizations and even deaths when used during police gatherings.
Five minutes later, according to a federal lawsuit from McClain’s family, he stopped breathing. He was later declared brain dead and had his life support removed.
An autopsy performed by a pathologist said a combination of a reduced coronary artery and physical exertion contributed to McClain’s death. Dr. Stephen Cina found no evidence of a ketamine overdose and said several other possibilities could not be ruled out, including an unexpected reaction to ketamine or suffocation that caused an irregular heartbeat.
The family’s lawsuit alleges McClain died as a result of a dramatic increase in lactic acid in the blood caused by excessive force used by police for about 18 minutes, combined with the effects of ketamine. They claim that police continued to “torture” McClain even after he was detained, a treatment they say is the result of the department’s history of “unconstitutional racist brutality.”
The suffocation used in McClain has been banned by police departments and some states, including Colorado, after Floyd’s assassination.
The attorney general’s announcement comes after three Aurora agents, including Rosenblatt, one of those charged with McClain’s death, were fired and one resigned last year for photographs mimicking the suffocation used on the young man. of 23 years.
Police Chief Vanessa Wilson promised changes, but spent her early days as chief last year apologizing after officers put four black girls on the ground and handcuffed two of them next to a car. that police suspected she was stolen but turned out not to be.
In July, an Aurora police officer was charged with assault after being caught on the body camera for whipping a video gun and strangling a black man during an arrest. Another officer was accused of not intervening as required by the new police liability law.