Justice For Elijah McClain: Independent Investigation Launched Into Death Of Black Man Put Into Police Chokehold

Source: Twitter

On Monday, the Aurora City Council unanimously voted to adopt a resolution calling for an independent investigation into Elijah McClain‘s death. The investigation will be led by Jonathan Smith of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, according to CBSDenver.

From 2010 to 2015, Smith assisted with investigations of civil rights violations by law enforcement for the United States Department of Justice. Smith also assisted with the investigation of the Ferguson, Missouri, police department after the death of Michael Brown.

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A three-member team will lead the investigation into McClain’s death along with at least three additional consultants. Council members said they are searching for panelists with backgrounds in criminal justice, medicine and civil rights.

McClain was stopped on August 24, 2019, by cops who were responding to a report of a “suspicious” person in Aurora, Colorado. According to The Gazette, McClain was on his way home from a gas station where he purchased four cans of Brisk tea. Eventually, the confrontation between the police and McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, escalated and cops put him in a chokehold. He was also forced to the ground for 15 minutes, and he eventually started vomiting and saying that he couldn’t breathe.

“There was a physical struggle,” former APD Chief Nick Metz said back in October. “When (police) saw (McClain), they told him to stop. He wouldn’t stop. Again, he was wearing a ski mask, it’s 10:30 p.m. at night in a residential area, so obviously that creates some concern.”

However, according to Elijah’s family, he was anemic and he useably wore a ski mask to keep his face warm while he was outside walking. Metz went on to say that McClain was in an “agitated mental state,” which caused the cops to request backup from Aurora Fire paramedics, who injected McClain with sedative ketamine to respond to his reported anxiety. While in the ambulance vehicle to the hospital, McClain went into cardiac arrest and he eventually died at the hospital on August 30 after being taken off life support.

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By June 2020, Aurora eventually terminated its contract with the attorney selected to helm the McClain death investigation after members of the Aurora City Council voiced their concerns over his neutrality.

The third-party investigation led by Smith will not bring criminal charges. However, the team will submit a written report to the city council with policy recommendations for the police, fire and EMT departments. The investigation will go over policies, including calls for service, calls for medical assistance, police contact with individuals, use of force, ketamine use, and administrative incident reviews.

Along with the independent investigation, Governor Jared Polis has appointed the Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser as a Special Prosecutor to review the case. The Department of Justice is also reviewing the case for a potential civil rights investigation.

The three police officers involved in McClain’s death have not been charged. They were removed from patrol duty back in June.

One of the cops, Jason Rosenblatt, was fired after his response to a photo text message, in which three APD officers posed for a photo reenacting the carotid restraint used on McClain. All three fired officers have appealed their terminations.

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108 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police

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108 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police

1. Matthew Williams, 35

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2. Daunte Wright, 20

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3. Marvin D. Scott III, 26

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4. Kurt Reinhold, 42

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5. McHale Rose, 19

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6. Xzavier Hill, 18

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7. Frederick Cox, 18

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8. Patrick Warren Sr.

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9. Carl Dorsey III, 39

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10. Dolal Idd, 23

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11. Andre' Hill, 47

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12. Joshua Feast

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13. Maurice Gordon

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14. Casey Goodson Jr.

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15. Rodney Applewhite

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16. A.J. Crooms

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17. Sincere Pierce

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18. Walter Wallace Jr.

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19. Marcellis Stinnette, teen killed by police in Waukegan, Illinois

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20. Jonathan Price

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21. Deon Kay

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22. Daniel Prude

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23. Damian Daniels

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24. Dijon Kizzee

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25. Trayford Pellerin

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26. David McAtee

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27. Natosha “Tony” McDade

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28. George Floyd

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29. Yassin Mohamed

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30. Finan H. Berhe

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31. Sean Reed

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32. Steven Demarco Taylor

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33. Ariane McCree

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34. Terrance Franklin

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35. Miles Hall

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37. William Green

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40. De’von Bailey, 19

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41. Christopher Whitfield, 31

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42. Anthony Hill, 26

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43. De'Von Bailey, 19

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45. Jamarion Robinson, 26

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60. Ramarley Graham, 18

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61. Manuel Loggins Jr., 31

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62. Trayvon Martin, 17

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63. Wendell Allen, 20

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64. Kendrec McDade, 19

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65. Larry Jackson Jr., 32

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66. Jonathan Ferrell, 24

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67. Jordan Baker, 26

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68. Victor White lll, 22

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69. Dontre Hamilton, 31

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70. Eric Garner, 43

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72. Michael Brown, 18

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73. Ezell Ford, 25

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74. Dante Parker, 36

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75. Kajieme Powell, 25

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76. Laquan McDonald, 17

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77. Akai Gurley, 28

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78. Tamir Rice, 12

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79. Rumain Brisbon, 34

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81. Charly Keunang, 43

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82. Tony Robinson, 19

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84. Freddie Gray, 25

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85. Brendon Glenn, 29

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86. Samuel DuBose, 43

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92. Akiel Denkins, 24

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93. Alton Sterling, 37

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96. Terence Crutcher, 40

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98. Alfred Olango, 38

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100. Stephon Clark, 22

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101. Danny Ray Thomas, 34

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102. DeJuan Guillory, 27

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103. Patrick Harmon, 50

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104. Jonathan Hart, 21

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105. Maurice Granton, 24

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106. Julius Johnson, 23

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107. Jamee Johnson, 22

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108. Michael Dean, 28

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Continue reading 108 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police

108 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police

UPDATED: 1:20 p.m. ET, April 15, 2021 -- Police shooting and killing Black males is all but a centuries-old American tradition among law enforcement in the U.S. But the fact that this apparent rite of police passage is still thriving in 2021 and only seems to be gaining momentum instead of slowing should give any American citizen pause as an increasing number of Black people -- especially males both young and old -- continue to be added to a growing list of victims with what seems like a new shooting every week. MORE: #SayHerName: Black Women And Girls Killed By Police Matthew Williams became the most recent Black male killed in an instance of preventable police violence when officers in Georgia said they shot him on April 12, 2021, because he had a knife. However, Williams' family rejects that narrative and has demanded the release of bodycam footage to verify police claims. [caption id="attachment_4139462" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Matthew Williams and his mother. | Source: Twitter[/caption] Williams died in his own home from the shooting. The lawyer re[resenting the family said the police are actively engaged in trying "to cover up killing a man in his own home." Local news outlet 11Alive reported that a witness said Williams was not armed with a knife when he was shot. One of Williams's five sisters said the police narrative is totally out of character for her brother. "My brother was not violent. My brother was not confrontational," Chyah Williams said. "He was the most caring, giving, selfless person you could ever meet." https://twitter.com/ArianaTriggs/status/1382444831910334464?s=20 Williams' killing came one day after a 20-year-old Black man named Daunte Wright was shot and killed during a traffic stop that centered on the number of air fresheners hanging from a car's rearview mirror. Williams and Wright join a long list of other Black men and boys killed by the police, including but certainly not limited to: Tamir Rice; Botham Shem Jean; E.J. Bradford; and Michael Brown. But two of the most recent names that can tragically be included in this deadly equation are Michael Dean, a 28-year-old father who police shot in the head on Dec. 3, 2019, and Jamee Johnson, a 22-year-old HBCU student who police shot to death after a questionable traffic stop on Dec. 14, 2019. One of the most distressing parts of this seemingly nonstop string of police killings of Black people is the fact that more times than not, the officer involved in the shooting can hide behind the claim that they feared for their lives -- even if the victim was shot in the back, as has become the case for so many deadly episodes involving law enforcement. In a handful of those cases -- such as Antwon Rose, a 13-year-old boy killed in Pittsburgh, and Stephon Clark, a 22-year-old killed in Sacramento, both of whom were unarmed -- the officers either avoided being criminally charged altogether or were acquitted despite damning evidence that the cops' lives were not threatened and there was no cause for them to resort to lethal force or any violence for that matter. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has been retained in so many of these cases, described the above scenarios in his new book, "Open Season," as the "genocide" of Black people. As NewsOne continues covering these shootings that so often go ignored by mainstream media, the below running list (in no certain order) of Black men and boys who have been shot and killed by police under suspicious circumstances can serve as a tragic reminder of the dangers Black and brown citizens face upon being born into a world of hate that has branded them as suspects since birth. Scroll down to learn more about the Black men and boys who have lost their lives to police violence.

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Justice For Elijah McClain: Independent Investigation Launched Into Death Of Black Man Put Into Police Chokehold  was originally published on newsone.com