Cops Allegedly Posed at Elijah McClain Memorial

They reportedly re-enacted fatal chokehold, and all are under investigation
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 30, 2020 12:15 PM CDT
Cops Allegedly Posed at Elijah McClain Memorial
Demonstrators cheer during a Saturday rally and march outside the police department in Aurora, Colo., over the death of Elijah McClain.   (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Three police officers are under investigation in Aurora, Colorado, after they were photographed near the site of Elijah McClain's fatal encounter with police, reports CBS Denver. Reporter Brian Maass says the photos show officers reenacting the chokehold used on the 23-year-old. The site where he died is now a memorial. McClain was detained on Aug. 24 after a person called 911 to report a person "wearing a ski mask and waving his arms," per Vice. McClain was listening to music at the time, and his family says he occasionally wore the mask because he had anemia and felt cold, reports NPR. Police said McClain refused requests to "stop walking down the street" before he was placed in a carotid hold and held down by three officers.

Paramedics then injected McClain with the sedative ketamine. He suffered multiple cardiac arrests and was declared brain dead before being taken off life support on Aug. 30. Local prosecutors declined to charge officers Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt, and Randy Roedema. However, all three were removed from regular duty before Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser was appointed to reopen case last week, per CBS Denver and the Washington Post. Interim police chief Vanessa Wilson said an "accelerated investigation" into the photos by Internal Affairs concluded Monday evening and would be "publicly released in its entirety." She added "all involved officers were immediately placed on administrative leave with pay in non-enforcement capacities." (More Elijah McClain stories.)

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