Family, Friends Of Elijah McClain Gather To Demand Justice
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Demonstrators gathered in Aurora on Satuday to protest the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain. He died after being detained by police in August of 2019.
McClain was declared brain dead days after police officers tackled him, performed a chokehold and injected him with ketamine. The drug is used for sedation purposes.
He was unarmed.
A passerby reported him as suspicious due to his mannerisms and the ski mask he was wearing.
The encounter was captured on police body camera video which was released in November. A police officer in the released video acknowledges McClain was not doing anything criminal prior to the arrest. He was walking home with groceries.
On the same day when McClain died, the Adams County District Attorney's office found no criminal acts committed by the officers.
McClain's mother and members of his family spoke on Saturday. They called for the investigation into his death to be reopened.
"We need to flood the Senate or whoever we need to, to get these bills passed, so that equality is real, and it's not just an illusion. It has to be real for everybody. It can't just be just something that's made up. No more fiction. No more fiction," said Sheneen McClain.
McClain's mother is creating a mobile memorial for him in an effort to keep his memory alive.