Opening arguments were expected to begin Wednesday afternoon in the first of three trials over the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was not suspected of any crime when Colorado police confronted him, placed him in a choke hold and called paramedics who gave him a sedative overdose.
McClain, 23, was walking home from a convenience store in the Denver suburb of Aurora on Aug. 24, 2019, when he was stopped by police responding to a report he was acting suspiciously.
Local prosecutors at first declined to press charges in McClain's death. But a public outcry prompted Colorado's governor to order the state attorney general to review the case. A grand jury charged three police officers and two paramedics in a 32-count indictment in September 2021, two years after the killing.
The Colorado attorney general also determined that Aurora's police department routinely violated the law by engaging in racially biased policing and excessive use of force. Two paramedics who injected McClain with a high dose of ketamine are scheduled for a joint trial on the same charges in November. The pair have pleaded innocent.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Internal videos show officers charged in Elijah McClain's deathInternal video recordings obtained by Scripps News reveal how officers described the altercation leading up to Elijah McClain's 2019 death.
Read more »
Prosecutors to present case against officers in death of Elijah McClain in Denver suburbA trial is expected to begin soon against two police officers charged in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was forcibly detained while walking down a street near Denver.
Read more »
Colorado State’s Henry Blackburn got death threats after hit that hospitalized Colorado’s Travis HunterColorado State defensive back Henry Blackburn allegedly received death threats after making a flagrant hit on Colorado star Travis Hunter on Saturday night.
Read more »