Officers from the Aurora, Colorado police department were placed on paid vacations after allegations that “multiple” police officers were depicted in photos near the site of Elijah McClain’s death, the acting chief of police said Monday night.
McClain, a 23-year-old black man, died last year after police drowned him. His death has sparked protests, and on Thursday Governor Jared Polis appointed a special prosecutor to investigate his death.
Acting Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson did not detail the photos or indicate when they were taken. Wilson said in a statement that he was aware of the allegations denounced in internal affairs on Thursday afternoon.
“I immediately ordered Internal Affairs to make this investigation its top priority,” Wilson said in the statement. “This accelerated investigation was completed tonight.”
Wilson said the investigation, including the reports and photographic evidence, “will be released publicly in its entirety immediately after its conclusion.”
Aurora police did not immediately respond to a request for more details about the photos, nor did they say how many officers were disciplined.
“All of the officers involved were immediately placed on administrative leave with pay in non-compliance capacities,” Wilson said in the statement.
McClain was detained by police on August 24 after someone called to report a suspicious person.
Officers applied a choke during the confrontation, authorities said. McClain suffered cardiac arrest and was then removed from life support.
The three officers involved in the McClain case were transferred to “non-compliance” tasks.
The caller who reported a suspicious person said that someone wearing a mask was walking down Billings Street and looked “incomplete” but did not mention any crime, according to the audio of the call.
McClain often wore a ski mask when he was cold, his family said. He had bought iced tea at a convenience store and told officers during the meeting that he was an introvert and was returning home, a video shows.
Police said in a statement at the time that “the man would not stop walking down the officer’s street” and “resisted contact, a fight ensued and he was arrested.”
In the video, McClain could be heard telling police “I can’t breathe properly.”
He suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital after paramedics administered a sedative to calm him. He was later declared brain dead and removed from life support less than a week later.
The Adams and Broomfield counties coroner discovered that McClain’s death was due to “undetermined causes.” The coroner did not rule out whether the police choke, in addition to the sedative, could have contributed to his death.
