Police and medical staff charged for the death of Elijah McClain in 2019

A grand jury charged the deaths of three policemen and two paramedics Elijah McLeanTwo years ago, a black man was strangled and injected with a powerful tranquilizer near Denver, Colorado’s Attorney General.

Attorney General Phil Weizer said on Wednesday that officers Randy Rodmar, Nathan Woodyard and Jason Rosenblatt, as well as fire department paramedics Jeremy Cooper and fire lieutenant Peter Ziqiunitz has been charged with manslaughter and criminal manslaughter.

The death of 23-year-old McLean attracted widespread attention in protests against racial injustice and police brutality after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year.

McLean’s plea in the police camcorder video-“I’m just different”-has been posted on the protest sign and spoken by celebrities who have joined those calling for prosecution to stop McLean while McLean is walking down the street The police officer is in Aurora, and a 911 caller reported that he looked suspicious.

Regarding McLean’s story, the family and friends of a massage therapist were described as gentle, kind and introverted on social media, including how he volunteered to play the violin to comfort the cat in the animal shelter.

Roedema and Rosenblatt each also face second-degree assault charges with intent to cause bodily harm, and a violent crime charge related to the assault charge. Cooper and Cichuniec also faced three second-degree assault charges, respectively.

“Our goal is to seek justice for Elijah McClain, his family and his friends,” Weiser said at a brief press conference, and he left without answering any questions.

“He was a son, a nephew, a brother, and a friend. He was only 23 years old when he died,” Weatherer said. “He has been waiting for him all his life. His family and friends must now continue to live without him.”

Elijah’s mother’s lawyer, Qusail Mohamed McLean, said she was “very shocked by the news and thanked Phil Weather and the other members of his team for their hard work.”

The whole country is under pressure protest Last year, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis ordered Weatherman to open a new criminal investigation. A district attorney said in 2019 that he could not bring charges against these officers because an autopsy could not determine the cause of McLean’s death.

On July 3, Elijah McClain in Aurora, Colorado blocked the memorial site across the street [File: David Zalubowski/AP]

McLean was stopped as he walked home from the store on August 24, 2019, after a 9/11 caller reported that a man wearing a ski mask and waving his hands looked “rough”. His family said that McLean wore a mask because he suffered from anemia and was susceptible to colds.

The police body camera video showed a police officer getting out of the car and approaching McLean on the sidewalk and said: “Stop there. Stop. Stop… I have the right to stop you because you are suspicious.”

In the video, the officer put his hand on McLean’s shoulder, turned around and repeated: “Don’t be nervous.” When McLean protested verbally, the officer said: “Relax, otherwise I will have to change the situation. When the other police joined to stop McLean, he asked them to let go and said: “You guys are starting to arrest me, I am stopping listening to music.”

What happened next is unclear, because when they moved McLean to the grass, all the officers’ body cameras fell off, but the voices of the officer and McLean could still be heard. A police officer said that McLean had snatched one of their guns. McLean can be heard trying to explain himself, sometimes crying or sobbing. He said he could not breathe and was on his way home.

“I’m just different. I’m just different, nothing more. That’s all I do. I’m sorry. I don’t have a gun. I don’t do that kind of thing. I don’t fight. Why are you attacking me? I don’t make a gun. . I don’t even kill flies. I don’t eat meat. …I am a vegetarian,” he said.

A police officer finally retrieved his camera. The photo showed McLean lying on his side in handcuffs and vomiting from time to time when another police officer leaned on him. A police officer who arrived later threatened to let his police dog bite McLean.

The paramedics arrived and injected a 63.5 kg (140 lb) McLean with 500 mg of ketamine—more than 1.5 times his body weight.

The fire department is allowed to use the drug to calm aggressive or aggressive people, but the lack of police training, conflicting medical standards, and non-existent protocols have led to the use of the drug during police encounters leading to hospitalization and even death.

According to the federal lawsuit filed by McLean’s family, within five minutes, he stopped breathing. Six days later, he died after being declared brain dead and losing life support.

A lawsuit from his family alleges that McLean died due to the excessive use of force by the police for about 18 minutes, combined with the effects of ketamine, which caused a sharp increase in blood lactic acid. They claimed that even though McLean was restrained, the police continued to “torture” him, saying that this treatment was the result of the department’s history of “unconstitutional racist atrocities”.

McLean’s father, Rawayne Mosley, said in a statement on Wednesday: “There is nothing to get my son back, but I am grateful that his murderer will eventually be held accountable.”