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<\/a>ast year on August 24th Elijah McClain was murdered by police and paramedics in a clear case of police brutality and medical negligence.<\/p>\nElijah was walking home from a convenience store wearing a ski mask and listening to music when a witness called 911 saying McClain appeared to be \u201csketchy\u201d but he didn\u2019t seem to pose a threat despite \u201cflailing his arms\u201d about because he was dancing to his music.<\/p>\n
He often wore a ski mask because he had anemia and easily got cold in his town of Aurora, Colorado.<\/p>\n
When a group of 3 police officers tackled him against a wall and then onto the ground he was unarmed and weighed an un-intimidating 140 pounds.<\/p>\n
An officer applied the now-infamous carotid chokehold legal in Aurora at that time but now banned there and in many parts of the United States after George Floyd\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Elijah was not being held for any legal reason and the police gave him no reason for being detained as they squeezed the life from his thin body.<\/p>\n
Officers claimed later that McClain was reaching for one of their guns despite nothing on the body cameras showing this on either video or audio.<\/p>\n
While being held suffocating on the ground for 15 minutes the paramedics were called and arrived giving Elija a shot of ketamine to sedate him.<\/p>\n
The dosage of ketamine was not correctly dosed for his size and he had two heart attacks on the way to the hospital.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Elijah McClain in the hospital after his encounter with the Aurora Police Department
Photo courtesy of Sheneen McClain<\/p><\/div>\n
After arriving at the hospital he was declared brain dead and a few days later on August 30th, he was removed from the life support machines keeping him alive passing away shortly after.<\/p>\n
The autopsy that was done by the city was determined to be \u201cinconclusive\u201d in discerning the cause of this peaceful man\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Nathan Woodyard, Randy Roedema, and Jason Rosenblatt the three arresting officers and the unknown paramedic who administered the lethal dose of ketamine were cleared of any wrongdoing in the case despite the vague autopsy and obvious video evidence.<\/p>\n
The supposedly \u201cdislodged\u201d police body cameras from video taken at the scene revealed Elija\u2019s last words as the multiple murderers sat on him and had him in a chokehold.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t breathe. I have my ID right here. My name is Elijah McClain, That\u2019s my house. I was just going home. I\u2019m an introvert. I\u2019m just different, that\u2019s all.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m so sorry. I have no gun. I don\u2019t do that stuff. I don\u2019t do any fighting. Why are you attacking me?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t even kill flies. I don\u2019t eat meat. I\u2019m a vegetarian. But I don\u2019t judge people. And I respect all life. Forgive me. All I was trying to do was become better.<\/p>\n
I will do it. I will do anything. Sacrifice my identity. I\u2019ll do it. You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful. And I love you. Try to forgive me \u2026 I just can\u2019t breathe correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this point, Elijah began to vomit repeatedly from the immense pressure on his chest from the full weight of officers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you keep messing around, I\u2019ll bring my dog out here and he\u2019s going to dog bite you,\u201d one officer said as McClain continued to cry.<\/p>\n
Here is the incident captured by police body cams.<\/p>\n
The McClain family attorney Mari Newman at a press conference back in October described the torturous murder he went through.<\/p>\n
\u201cElijah, a peaceful person, said, \u2018Please respect my personal space.\u2019 That\u2019s what he said. But they didn\u2019t do that,\u201d Newman\u00a0said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey slammed him up against the wall, they tackled him to the ground, and they continued to terrorize and torture him for 15 minutes.<\/p>\n
Even as he was laying on the ground, fully restrained, they continued to use force against him\u2014so much force that he was laying on the ground vomiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
He could often be found playing his violin for dogs and cats abandoned at the shelter because he was afraid they were lonely.<\/p>\n Thanks to the current political climate and protests jump-started after the horrifying death of George Floyd another unarmed black man murdered by police through the use of a carotid chokehold activists demand Elija\u2019s case be reopened and as of today, they\u2019ve gotten their wish.<\/p>\n A\u00a0change.org<\/a>\u00a0petition has reached over three million signatures in the pursuit of finding justice for Elijah\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n Vanessa Wilson Aurora Interim Police Chief passed a ban on the carotid chokehold and even declared a \u201cduty-to-intervene\u201d policy that requires officers to step in if they witness other officers using force that is \u201cbeyond objectively reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple celebrities have spoken out about Elijah\u2019s case, including Ellen\u00a0DeGeneres, Jennifer Aniston, Kelly Rowland, and Golden State Warriors basketball star Klay Thompson, who described McClain on\u00a0Instagram\u00a0<\/a>as \u201ca\u00a0gentle soul who played violin to lonely kittens in his spare time\u201d but \u201cwas murdered by Aurora CO police officers (who still roam free) for looking \u2018suspicious\u2019 on his way home from the convenience store.\u201d<\/p>\n Thompson added:\u00a0\u201cNow remember, this is the same police force that apprehended James Holmes after slaying 12 people and injuring 70 others at an Aurora movie theatre midnight screening.<\/p>\n They subdued him without a scratch on his body. There is no debate that men, woman, and children of color are \u2018policed\u2019 to a much harsher and catastrophic standard than white America.\u201d<\/p>\n Also weighing in was actress Kerry Washington, who tweeted the following list of demands, beginning with encouragement for concerned citizens to call Governor Jared Polis about the McClain tragedy.<\/p>\n After tweeting about the case on June 24th, Polis took action on June 25th,\u00a0signing\u00a0an executive order appointing Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cinvestigate, and if the facts support prosecution, criminally prosecute any individuals whose actions caused the death of Elijah McClain.\u201d<\/p>\n Activism continues on the local level. Scheduled for 1 p.m. tomorrow, June 27, is the \u201cJustice for Elijah McClain! Rally & March\u201d at the Aurora Police Department headquarters, 15001 East Alameda Parkway.<\/p>\n The Party for Socialism and Liberation in Denver, which also sponsored a recent protest over the\u00a0police-shooting death of William DeBose<\/a>, lists the following demands:<\/p>\n 1. Immediately fire all three APD officers (Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt, and Randy Roedema) and both paramedics who actively participated in Elijah\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n 2. Reopen the case and file criminal charges against all three APD officers and the two paramedics who actively participated in Elijah\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n 3. Provide immediate restitution to the McClain family, reflecting the incredible injustice committed against them. Do not drag it out any longer, forcing them to repeatedly defend the injustice of the cold-blooded murder of their child.<\/p>\n<\/a>Elijah McClain has had an outpouring of those who knew him telling stories of his gentle nature. He was a vegetarian who cared about and loved animals.<\/p>\n