The mother of Elijah McClain has settled her federal civil rights lawsuit against Aurora, Colorado, two years after he was killed by police officers.
Elijah McClain had been on his way home on foot when the police stopped him. Not long after, he was placed in a banned carotid artery chokehold before being injected with ketamine, a powerful anesthetic.
“Elijah was listening to music, enjoying the short walk home from the corner store with some iced tea when Aurora police officers grabbed, tackled, and assaulted him,” the lawsuit said of the confrontation on Aug. 24, 2019.
The chokehold has since been banned.
No additional details are available about the settlement in Sheneen McClain’s lawsuit, though the city confirmed the settlement to NBC affiliate KUSA.
Officers say they were responding to a 911 call that McClain had worn a face mask into a convenience store to buy some iced tea. The caller said that he looked “suspicious.”
During the interaction, he told officers:
“I’m just different. I’m just different, that’s all. That’s all I was doing. I’m so sorry. I have no gun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do any fighting. Why were you attacking me? I don’t do guns. I don’t even kill flies. I don’t eat meat. … I am a vegetarian.”
Aurora police officers Randy Roedema, Nathan Woodyard and Jason Rosenblatt have all been charged. They were fired from their jobs last year. Paramedic Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec of the Aurora Fire Department have also been charged. They will each face one charge of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide as well as a variety of assault charges.
