New footage has been pieced together to show a minute-by-minute lead-up to Elijah McClain being stopped by police in Aurora, Colorado, in 2019, which ultimately lead to his death.
The video shows McClain, 23, buying some items from a nearby convenience store while wearing a ski mask due to having anemia, which meant he often had trouble staying warm. While walking home, someone in the neighborhood called 911 to report a "suspicious" person wearing a mask and waving their arms while listening to music.
Bodycam footage shows officers stopping McClain, who didn't hear them talking at first because he was listening to music, and telling him that he was being "suspicious." After engaging McClain, the officers claim that he was resisting "officer contact," and they slammed McClain against a brick wall. McClain was then placed in a chokehold for 15 minutes, despite already being restrained, hand-cuffed and vomiting.
Paramedics administered a sedative called Ketamine to McClain, despite being unresponsive. He suffered a heart attack on the way to the hospital and ended up in a coma before being taken off life support three days later.
Mari Newman, a lawyer for the McClain family, says a high dose of Ketamine might have contributed to his death, along with being tortured. Newman stated, "What did they do during that fifteen minutes? They tortured him. And I don’t use the word ‘torture’ lightly. I wouldn’t say torture unless I mean it, and I do mean it."
The officers - Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt, and Randy Roedema were reassigned to administrative duties for their safety, according to Faith Goodrich, spokeswoman for the Aurora Police Department. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced that the case would be investigated following national media attention.
