Civil rights investigation into 2019 police killing of Elijah McClain finds Aurora Police Department has a 'deeply engrained culture of racial bias and excessive force'
A civil rights investigation that was launched amid outrage over the 2019 death of Elijah McClain found a deeply engrained culture of racial bias within the Aurora Police Department.
Attorney General Phil Weiser cited two occasions as a prime example of how the department treats black people differently than white people.
In one instance, police officers pointed their weapons at a black man who claimed he had knife and was going to kill himself, while in a separate incident an officer said 'I'm Joe, you look to be hurting. How can we help you?' to a white man who was 'very drunk and exhibiting mental health issues.'
Twenty-three-year-old massage therapist Elijah McClain died of a cardiac arrest after he was put into a chokehold by Aurora police officers and injected 500 milligrams of ketamine, 1.5 times what his body could resist, by paramedics.
'These actions are unacceptable. They hurt the people that law enforcement is entrusted' to serve, Weiser said.
Sheneen McClain, McClain's mother, said she participated in the state investigation, welcomed its findings and urged the police department to work with Weiser's office.
'It's just terrible that it takes my son's death for Aurora police to change what they've been doing for a long time in this community,' she said.
'Front and center: Elijah would still be here if the system was operating like it should. My son's death was preventable and it's really sad that it took all this to get justice done and make sure it won't happen to someone else,' she added.
Officers Erica Marrero, Kyle Dittrich and Jason Rosenblatt were fired from Aurora police after they shared a pictured of what seemed to be them reenacting the chokehold that killed McClain (pictured)
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said the agency also has a pattern of using unlawful excessive force, frequently escalating encounters with civilians, and failing to properly document police interactions with residents
'It's just terrible that it takes my son's death for Aurora police to change what they've been doing for a long time in this community,' said Elijah McClain's mom, Sheneen McClain
Weiser said the agency also has a pattern of using unlawful excessive force, frequently escalating encounters with civilians, and failing to properly document police interactions with residents.
'These actions are unacceptable. They hurt the people that law enforcement is entrusted to serve,' Weiser said.
On September 1, Weiser's office charged three officers and two paramedics with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in connection with Elijah McClain's death.
On August 24, 2019, police stopped McClain as he walked home from a store after a 911 caller reported a man wearing a ski mask and waving his hands who seemed 'sketchy.'
Officers put McClain in a chokehold and pinned him down.
Paramedics injected him with 500 milligrams of ketamine, an amount appropriate for someone 77 pounds heavier than McClain´s 143-pound frame, according to an indictment.
McClain fell unconscious, was pronounced brain-dead at a hospital, and was taken off life support several days later.
Officers Erica Marrero, Kyle Dittrich and Jason Rosenblatt were fired from Aurora police after they shared a picture of what seemed to be them reenacting the chokehold that killed McClain.
Dittrich texted the photos to two officers who stopped McClain - Rosenblatt and Nathan Woodyard - in an attempt to try to cheer up Woodyard, authorities said.
Rosenblatt texted back 'ha ha,' while Woodyard didn't reply and deleted the photos.
Woodyard was not disciplined.
Weiser's investigation cites numerous examples of biased policing in addition to McClain's death.
McClain fell unconscious, was pronounced brain-dead at a hospital, and was taken off life support several days later after a confrontation with Aurora Police
Dittrich texted the photos to two officers who stopped McClain - Rosenblatt and Nathan Woodyard - in an attempt to try to cheer up Woodyard, authorities said
A board that oversees officer hiring and discipline turned down a decision by a police chief to fire a lieutenant who used a racial slur to refer to a group of black residents.
The state civil rights investigation, announced in August 2020, was the first of its kind under a sweeping police accountability law passed in Colorado amid protests over the killings of McClain and George Floyd.
Weiser urged the police department to commit to recommended reforms in officer training and stricter standards for police stops and arrests.
He said that if the Aurora police fails to comply, his office will seek a court order but noted that the department had since fully cooperated in the investigation.
Weiser said his office wants a state agreement with Aurora to be submitted to a court. The agreement would have ongoing independent oversight and would specify what the city and department must do to fulfill his investigation´s recommendations.
Aurora police Chief Vanessa Wilson and City Manager Jim Twombly said in statements that they will cooperate with Weiser's office and already have been working to implement reforms in the department.
'We acknowledge there are changes to be made,' Wilson said.
'We will not broad brush this agency or discount the professionalism and integrity that individual officers bring to our community every day,' she added.
The Colorado police accountability law made it unlawful for police officers or other employees of government agencies to deprive people of their constitutional rights and gave the attorney general the power to enforce it.
Under the law, if the attorney general finds an agency has 'a pattern or practice' of violating people´s rights, the attorney general must notify the agency of the reasons for that belief and give it 60 days to make changes.
If the agency does not make changes, the attorney general can file a lawsuit to force them.
State Rep. Leslie Herod, a Democrat from Denver who helped craft the police accountability legislation, said Weiser's recommendations proved the law is working.
'We have affirmed what the citizens of Aurora and so many folks already knew: That the Aurora Police Department has operated in a way that is racist and that is particularly racist against black people and presents harm to our community,' said Herod, who is black.
Weiser´s office was in charge of prosecuting the three police officers and two paramedics involved in McClain´s death.
The attorney general convened a grand jury to decide whether to file criminal charges after being ordered to take another look at the case by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis amid last year´s protests.
The grand jury indicted all five.
An investigation prompted by outrage over the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain found deeply rooted racial bias and excessive use of force within the Aurora Police Department. In this June 27, 2020 file photo, demonstrators carry placards as they walk down Sable Boulevard during a rally and march over the death of Elijah McClain in Aurora
In this August 24, 2020, file photo, two people hold posters showing images depicting Elijah McClain during a candlelight vigil for McClain outside the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles
A small display stands next to the retaining wall for Interstate 225 across from where Elijah McClain was stopped by Aurora Police
The Aurora Police Department faced criticism when officers put four black girls on the ground last year and handcuffed two of them next to a car that police suspected was stolen but turned out not to be.
And an officer was charged with assault in July after being captured on body camera video pistol-whipping and choking a Black man during an arrest.
Another officer was charged with not intervening as required under the new police accountability law.
Lorenzo M. Boyd, professor in criminal justice and community policing at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, said Weiser's action is unusual because the federal, not state government generally reaches court-approved agreements with local police departments to ensure changes are made.
'A lot of times the state tries to not ruffle feathers at home.
'They´ll farm things out to the feds to kind of keep their hands clean,'
'But it seems like in this situation, the state´s attorney general in Colorado decides, you know, we need to fix our own house before outsiders need to come in and do it,' Boyd said.
Aurora police Chief Vanessa Wilson (pictured) and City Manager Jim Twombly said in statements that they will cooperate with Weiser's office and already have been working to implement reforms in the department.
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