Towards the end of the night, the 23-year-old Black man lay in a hospital bed. Three days later, he was pronounced brain dead and life support taken away, according to a lawsuit filed by his family earlier this month.
McClain’s death drew renewed attention this summer to the murders of George Floyd police in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky. As protests grew nationwide, demonstrations in the Denver suburb of McClain and his family huddled for months seeking justice.
Here’s what you need to know about Elijah McClain, his death and where the case stands.
How McClain died
McClain was stopped by three officers last August after a 911 caller said a suspect wearing a ski mask was walking down Billings Street in Aurora, according to a police news release. That report says McClain “resisted contact” with officers before a fight broke out.
“I’m an introvert,” McClain is heard saying in police bodycam footage, after officers confronted him. “Please respect the boundaries I speak.”
“Relax,” says an officer at one point, “or I’ll have to change this situation.”
Before an officer wrestles him to the ground, McClain is told to tell officers that he was trying to stop his music so he could listen to her.
During the fight, one officer is heard saying, “He just picked up your gun, dude.” One officer tells McClain that he will “bring my dog outside and he will bite you” if McClain continues with “knives.”
The DA’s letter said paramedics arrived and administered ketamine, a powerful anesthetic. McClain was taken to a hospital but suffered a heart attack on the way. He was pronounced brain dead three days later, on August 27, the letter said.
The autopsy performed by Coroner County did not determine the cause of death, but found “intense physical exertion and a narrow left coronary artery” were contributing factors.
The report noted McClain’s history of asthma and carotid retention, although the autopsy did not determine whether it contributed to McClain’s death. The concentration of ketamine in his system was at a “therapeutic level”, the report said.
Finally, McClain’s death could have been an accident, the result of natural causes such as a murder, the autopsy concluded.
McClain’s family lawyer, Mari Newman, called the autopsy “very strange.” She said it “ignores the most obvious factor, which is a perfectly healthy young man walking home from the drug store with a bottle of ice tea in a bag and he ends up dead.”
What happened to the officers
But amid recent accounts of race and police brutality, some felt McClain’s death deserved a second look, and by June, more than two million people had signed an online petition calling for a new investigation.
“Elijah McClain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the cause of justice in his name to statewide care,” Polis said in a statement at the time.
McClain was “a wonderful soul,” says family
“Why has it taken almost a year, international media attention, millions of people signing a petition, for a responsible adult to finally step up and do what should have been right from the start?” she asked.
The lawsuit cited nine claims for relief, including excessive force; refusal of equal protection; failure of basic safety and providing adequate medical care and treatment; substantive due process – release from liberty – compulsory administration of medication; battery causing unauthorized death; and negligence causing unlawful death.
CNN has reached out to the city for comment on the lawsuit.
In court, McClain’s loved ones remember him as a “beautiful soul.”
“The family and congregation of Elijah remembered him for his extended kindness and grace, his desire to help and heal, and his thoughtful, spiritual approach to life,” it stated. McClain would often play the violin for animals they could adopt at a local shelter, hoping it would help reduce their loneliness, the court said.
The reform made since his death
Colorado officials have begun implementing some policy changes since McClain’s death last August.
It also requires the use of body-worn cameras by police, includes the use of lethal force against those suspected of minor or non-violent crimes, requires officers to intervene if they witness another officer with excessive physical force and presents new data reporting proposals on the use of force, including reforms.
“This legislation specifically addresses landmark, evidence-based reforms that not only protect civil rights, but will help restore trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” Polis said.
But activists still want to see criminal prosecutions brought against a number of individuals, including the officers and EMTs present at the scene of McClain’s death, Bailey told KUSA.
“We need some kind of healing within our community,” she said, “and what better place to start than with Elijah McClain.”
CNN’s Leslie Perrot, Madeline Holcombe, Brad Parks, Amir Vera, Caroline Kelly and Ray Sanchez contributed to this report.
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