Police Department Behind Elijah McClain’s Death Is Wildly Racist, State AG Finds
Months before George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis, the death of Elijah McClain in Aurora, Colorado, sparked broad outrage at what critics painted as lethal brutality by racist cops.
On Wednesday, state attorney general Phil Weiser added new fuel to the fire, releasing a damning probe that detailed systemic racism in the department behind the young man’s brutal demise.
In August 2019, McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, was walking home in Aurora when local police tackled him and handcuffed him after 911 calls had flagged a “sketchy” person in the area. Later, McClain—who was wearing a ski mask and listening to music at the time of his run-in with police—was sedated by fire rescue personnel with a large dose of ketamine.