Elijah McClain (1996-2019) was an unarmed Black American man killed by police on August 24th 2019 in Aurora, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. It is only making news now in the wake of the George Floyd protests.
The Aurora police department is the very one that took James Holmes, the Batman shooter, alive in 2012. Holmes, far from being unarmed, had a Smith & Wesson M&P15 semi-automatic rifle, having just shot 70 people, killing 12. Holmes is White. Still alive.
McClain, far from being the Black Brute the police apparently stereotyped him as, played his violin for lost kittens at a shelter (pictured above) so that they would not be lonely. By all accounts he was a really sweet guy, a light in a dark world.
On August 24th 2019, McClain was walking home after buying iced tea for his brother at a convenience store, listening to music and waving his hands. Because he had anaemia he was wearing a ski mask (and a jacket) for warmth.
Call to police: Someone driving down the road called the police saying that he saw a “suspicious person” who looked “sketchy” – but also said he was unarmed, committing no crime and was a danger to no one.
When police arrived, they said they had the right to stop him because he looked “suspicious”. They tried to search him for a gun. In The Struggle That Ensued, one of the police officers said, “he is going for your gun”. They wrestled McClain to the ground.
McClain:
“I was just going home. I don’t have a gun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t even kill flies. I don’t even eat meat.”
As he lay vomiting, one of the officers threatened to sic a police dog on him. They put him in a chokehold for several minutes.
A medic injected McClain with 500 mg of ketamine to calm him down, but then later noticed his chest “was not rising on its own, and he did not have a pulse”.
Three days later McClain was declared brain dead. He was covered in bruises.
The medical examiner could not determine the cause of death – maybe it was due to natural causes.
The police, after investigating themselves, concluded that the officers acted “within policy and consistent with training” – all except for the threat about the police dog.
The county prosector brought no charges:
“Based on the investigation presented and the applicable Colorado law, there is no reasonable likelihood of success of proving any state crimes beyond a reasonable doubt at trial”
By November the three killer cops were back at work:
- Nathan Woodyard,
- Jason Rosenblatt,
- Randy Roedema.
In June, though, all three were quietly assigned to “non-enforcement duties”.
By June 25th, 2.7 million people had signed a petition to open up a new investigation. The county prosecutor was unmoved. But the governor was and ordered an investigation by state Attorney General Phil Weiser.
On June 27th the police attended a peaceful violin vigil for McClain – in riot gear. Feeling threatened, the police used clubs and pepper spray.
– Abagond, 2020.
See also:
- The extremely incomplete list of unarmed Blacks killed by police
- The George Floyd protests
- James Holmes
- Black Brute stereotype
- Trayvon Martin – also looked “suspicious” after buying iced tea for his brother at a convenience store.
- killer cops
- The term “thug”
- bullying
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The fact this incident happened long before george floyd’s murder, is the perfect example of how common place and frequent black men are murdered by white cops.
I’m 100% positive, there’s a lot more murders that are being kept quiet.
Every day in America, a black man will die at the hands of a white racist cop, and knowing that it very well could be me is what living in a state of terror feels like.
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Rest In Peace, Beautiful Soul!
RIP Elijah McClain!
I only hope that in these times of change your assassins will finally be brought to justice and answer for their crime.
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According to the NBC News affiliate in Denver, CO, the depraved cops who murdered Elijah McClain returned a couple of months later to a spot near the crime scene. There they took turns snapping photos of themselves in chokeholds.
Mari Newman, attorney for the McClain family expressed her disgust at their sociopathic behavior with this comment:
https://www.9news.com/article/news/investigations/aurora-police-officers-photos-mcclain-investigation/73-962a4c82-c640-4b07-8f90-8a508a187535
A few bad apples? The whole tree is rotten to the roots.
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For some reason I was curious about the 500 milligrams of Ketamine he was injected with. I found this:
The initial dose of ketamine hydrochloride administered intravenously may range from 1 mg/kg to 4.5 mg/kg (0.5 to 2 mg/lb). The average amount required to produce five to ten minutes of surgical anesthesia has been 2 mg/kg (1 mg/lb).
Alternatively, in adult patients an induction dose of 1 mg to 2 mg/kg intravenous ketamine at a rate of 0.5 mg/kg/min may be used for induction of anesthesia. In addition, diazepam in 2 mg to 5 mg doses, administered in a separate syringe over 60 seconds, may be used. In most cases, 15 mg of intravenous diazepam or less will suffice. The incidence of psychological manifestations during emergence, particularly dream-like observations and emergence delirium, may be reduced by this induction dosage program.
Note: The 100 mg/mL concentration of ketamine hydrochloride should not be injected intravenously without proper dilution. It is recommended the drug be diluted with an equal volume of either Sterile Water for injection, USP, Normal Saline, or 5% Dextrose in Water.
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It appears to me Elijah might have been on the spectrum. It pains my soul imagining how frightened and confused he was while those beast were attacking him, the final blow injecting him like he was some kind of animal. Elijah was no threat to these state sanctioned thugs. May his soul rest in paradise, and his memory be blessing.
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I hope the person that made the 911 call is haunted and never gets a moments rest.
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The EMT needs to be brought up on charges.
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“As he lay vomiting, one of the officers threatened to sic a police dog on him. They put him in a chokehold for several minutes.”
“Based on the investigation presented and the applicable Colorado law, there is no reasonable likelihood of success of proving any state crimes beyond a reasonable doubt at trial” – County Prosecutor
“the officers acted “within policy and consistent with training” – Aurora Police Department
Adams County Coroner, Monica Broncucia-Jordan, said the cause of death of Elijah McClain was “undetermined.”
Interestingly enough, Adams County Coroner’s Office Mission Statement says the following: “To accurately determine the manner and the cause of death of individuals that die within the statutory jurisdiction of the office; through a fair, ethical, and competent investigation of death.”
Sadly enough, these demonic incidents involving so-called ploice officers will continue to happen due to the much maligned legal doctrine of “qualified immunity.” A doctrne frequently utilized by state and federal judges to act as a buffer or to shield politicians and police officers from civil lawsuits that are accused of misconduct while performing their duties.
As recently as of June 15th, 2020, I was somewhat surprised that Justice Clarence Thoms had this to say regarding his dissenting opinion in regards to qualified immunity: “qualified immunity doctrine appears to stray from the statutory text.”
Moreover, this doctrine was also established to give police officers a little “breathing room to make split second decisions.” Trust me, I get that. But what I dont get is the following: What made Elijah’s situation (which was, walking down the street) qualifying as a split second decision??
Until police officers and police administrators, politicians, District Attorneys and Medical Examiners’ personal pensions, other monetary benefits and the threat of prison time are used as bargaining chips, in an attempt to force them to operate within established policies, expect to see more needless deaths of so-called African Americans, by white police officers, even when a threat is obviously absent.
RIP young man (Elijah McClain)!
https://www.npr.org/2020/06/15/876853817/supreme-court-will-not-re-examine-doctrine-that-shields-police-in-misconduct-sui
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They singled this young man out. We got one. They falsified their reports. Stating that he was agitated and needed to be calmed down. Reasoning for giving him a over dose that led to his murder. They lied. He was as gentle as a lamb. He pleaded for his very life. Unfortunately his begging and pleading fell on dead ears. They tortured him, strangled him, said he was not cooperating, then when unconscious they gave him a lethal injection that eventually killed him. Life is so sad when you can’t even walk home without being harrassed and murdered by the very people who took an oath to protect you.
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@FREDERICKA FITZGERALD
Your comment was very painful to read, but it seemed somehow necessary, that some one expresses the pain that this young man endured before his death. I am so tired.
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This case broke me and everyone involved needs to be held accountable.
The 911 caller should be ashamed. The cops’ behavior, along with their lies and cover up are appalling. The DA was a coward.
There’s no excuse or justification for how they treated Elijah. Hell is awaiting these cowards.
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Oh, and I should have also listed the EMT who administered ketamine. Absolutely unreal.
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Aurora, Colorado same place as the white movie theater shooter who didn’t get shot and killed by police.
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/03/elijah-mcclain-death-officers-fired-over-photo-reenacting-chokehold/5373748002/
The terrorists are so proud.
The photo was taken at McClain’s memorial.
It feels like a 21st century adaptation of the lynching postcard.
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Video of the same:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp7_J3a-DwQ)
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Correction:
On the “George Floyd Protests” thread where the first conversations (beyond the Open Thread) about Elijah McClain were made, I made this comment:
I mischaracterized the structure of the players who participated in McClain’s murder as “systems”. A more accurate description would have been “institutions”.
Even the anonymous individual that called 911 about a “suspicious person” who looked “sketchy” was part of an institution—–the informal institution of anti-Black surveillance that has been a part of the USA since the first slave revolt in the 1663.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery-iv-slave-rebellions
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Watching CBS News three officers fired over selfie that re-enacted chokehold of Elijah McClain. This is what I meant by the toxicity of law enforcement culture. They hire racist sociopaths for these jobs. It’s not enough for them to be fired because they will just be hired some where else. These soulless beast are not human.
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There has to be an International Convention on Policing. All over the world police forces attract thugs. Not all police officers are thugs but there are enough to cause death and misery to the people they are paid to protect.
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If you don’t want to die don’t resist arrest even if you FEEL like the cop stop you for no reason .
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@jazzyforever123
That same advice could be given to almost any victim of assault.
– If you don’t want to die, let the rapist do their thing.
– If you don’t want to die, let your spouse hit you a few times to blow off steam.
– If you don’t want to die, plow the fields like the overseer said.
– If you don’t want to die, let the enemy invade your country without a fight.
– If you don’t want to die, let the nice man in the van abduct you.
You’re giving credit to the uniform rather than acknowledging that a human being is wearing it. That particular uniform attracts some exceptionally noble people for sure, but it also attracts power-hungry abusers that know people like you will excuse their abuses as long as they are carried out against minorities.
You’re not wrong… individual resistance is almost always futile. However, complying with abusers simply enables further abuse. The decision to stand up for your rights is an individual one and not yours to judge.
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An independent report commissioned by the city of Aurora basically says Elijah McClain was murdered by city’s employees (Police and EMS).
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/22/us/elijah-mcclain-aurora-police-death/index.html
Excerpt:
So many common racist tropes here…
They detained him merely for walking while Black and then exaggerated his size and strength to justify both a deadly restraint and the administration of excess drugs even though Elijah hadn’t moved or made a sound in a minute.
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Activists who held peaceful protests against the Aurora, CO police in the wake of Elijah McClain’s murder were charged with a variety of felonies and misdemeanors. The most outrageous charge was for “attempted kidnapping” of the Aurora police.
The kidnapping charges were leveled against protestors after they held a demonstration in front of the Aurora District 1 police station. In March 2021, a judge threw out the charges of attempted kidnapping of 18 police officers. The judge found,
https://www.denverdefense.org/arapahoe_county_d_a_withdraws_dozens
So, the police who murdered a man for “fun” still walk free, while non-violent protestors face a barrage of phony felony and misdemeanor charges.
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Just learned today a statewide grand jury in Colorado filed charges against the three Aurora, CO police officers and two paramedics for their part in murdering Elijah McClain. They are due to be arrested today.
https://www.cpr.org/2021/09/01/aurora-police-officers-indicted-in-the-2019-death-of-elijah-mcclain/
Among the many irregularities in McClain’s case was the presence of Aurora, CO police investigators at McClain’s autopsy. According to Colorado Public Radio,
https://www.cpr.org/2020/08/19/elijah-mcclain-aurora-police-coroner-autopsy-report/
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A local media figure in the Denver area, Jeff Fard of Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center in Denver reacted to the news of the indictment and spoke of justice for Elijah McClain:
https://denverite.com/2021/09/01/activists-and-elected-officials-react-to-elijah-mcclain-grand-jury-decision/
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Elijah McClain deserves justice. RIP gentle soul.
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While there will be no justice because Elijah McClain is dead, there needs to be accountability for his death.
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The last police officer was found not guilty today. One other had been put on trial and convicted of murder while the others charged predators walked.
I’m pessimistic that any real change will happen during my life time. There is little justice in the world today, only death to those whom to world wishes not to notice. Where killing is only a crime based on your geographical location and the color of your skin.
RIP beautiful child. So much good stolen from you.
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/colorado/news/nathan-woodyard-not-guilty-verdict-elijah-mcclain-death-aurora-police-officer/
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