Independent investigation into Aurora police has been announced

Aurora police officers did not have a legal basis to force Elijah McClain to stop walking, to decorate him or to use a stranglehold on him, an independent investigation commissioned by the city found.

Investigators found that the initial investigation into the incident, led by detectives from the department in the major crime unit, was severely flawed. Detectives could not ask basic, critical questions about the officers involved in McClain’s death, but instead “the questions appear regularly to provoke specific seductive ‘magic language’ found in court rulings,” the report said.

The detectives’ report was used by the department’s review board as well as the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which removed both officers from misconduct.

“In addition, the Major Crime Unit’s report broke the record for releasing the officers rather than presenting a neutral version of the facts,” the investigators wrote.

“It is difficult to imagine that other persons involved in a fatal incident would be questioned as these officers were,” the investigating officers further said.

Aurora city officials released the 157-page report on McClain’s death Monday morning to city police and paramedics. The city has hired a panel of investigators to investigate the decision of officers and paramedics and make policy recommendations “to reduce the chance of another tragedy like this,” the report said.

The panel’s recommendations include a review of the police’s responsibility system and a review of policy, training and practice regarding arrest standards and the use of force.

“The camera’s audio, a restricted video and Major Crime’s interviews with officers tell two contrasting stories,” the report said. “The statements of the officers at the scene and in subsequent recorded interviews indicate a violent and relentless struggle. The limited video and the sound of the cameras carried by the body reveal that Mr. McClain is surrounded by officers, all larger than he, while exclaiming in pain, apologizing, explaining himself and pleading with the officers. ‘

Investigators also found that Aurora’s paramedics failed to properly examine McClain before injecting him with 500 mg of sedative ketamine – a dose based on a ‘very inaccurate’ estimate of McClain’s weight. Paramedics estimated he weighed 190 pounds, but he actually weighed closer to 140 pounds.

“It seems that Aurora Fire has accepted the impression of the officers that Mr. McClain aroused the delirium without confirming the impression through meaningful observation or diagnostic examination of Mr. McClain, “the investigators wrote.

The external consultants appointed to conduct the investigation presented their findings to Aurora’s city government on Monday morning – the first findings released from several ongoing investigations into the incident that are taking place at each government level.

The leaders of the Aurora government launched the investigation on July 20 because McClain’s death in 2019 attracted international attention. Widespread protests against the black people exploded in the summer of 2020 after the assassination of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police, and dozens of protests were held in McClain’s name.

The investigation included an overview of the city’s applicable policies, procedures and practices, including how police and firefighters treat people, their use of force, their use of the sedative ketamine and how the city reviews incidents. However, the investigators’ request to question the officers and paramedics involved was rejected.

The investigation was led by Jonathan Smith, executive director of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee on Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. Smith previously headed the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division that conducted the investigation into the Ferguson, Missouri, police department after the death of Michael Brown.

Aurora City Council will discuss the report’s findings at a special meeting on Monday at 5 p.m. The public can watch the meeting at AuroraTV.org or on Comcast Channels 8/880 in Aurora.

The results of the city-initiated investigation are the first to be released from several ongoing investigations into McClain’s death. The Colorado Attorney General’s office has asked a large jury to look into the case and see if any criminal charges are justified, and the U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating whether officers are violating McClain’s civil rights.

McClain’s family has also filed a federal lawsuit against Aurora.

Three Aurora police officers detained McClain on August 24, 2019, after receiving a 911 call about a suspect. When McClain refused to stop walking, officers took him to the ground, strangled him and handcuffed him before a paramedic injected McClain with ketamine, a powerful sedative.

McClain suffered cardiac arrest on his way to the hospital, where he was later pronounced brain dead. He was removed from life support on 30 August 2019. McClain is not suspected of a crime.

According to the Adams County coroner, the cause of McClain’s death is indefinite and the district attorney of the 17th Judicial District Court found the three police officers who violently detained him were not criminally liable. A review of the incident by the police found that the three officers did not violate any policy and that they were not disciplined. Both the police chief and the district attorney who made these decisions have since left their position.