Nearly one year after Elijah McClain’s death following an encounter with Aurora police, the 23-year-old’s story is being spread by celebrities, politicians and national news organizations. The increased interest in the incident, and others like it, has prompted Colorado lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis to take action.
Below is a timeline of how we got to this moment, as reported by The Denver Post.
Aug. 24, 2019
Elijah McClain, 23, was walking home from a store around 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday evening when authorities contacted him near Billings Street and Colfax Avenue in Denver. Someone had called 911 to report a “suspicious person” who was wearing a ski mask and waving his arms.
McClain routinely wore masks when he was outside because he had anemia — a blood condition — and became cold easily, according to his family.
Police said McClain refused to stop walking when they asked him to and he battled when they attempted to take him into custody.
Police body cam footage would show that an officer got close to McClain and touched him. “Stop tensing up, dude. Stop tensing up,” the officer said. McClain replied: “I am going home. … Leave me alone,” and “Let me go. No, let me go. I am an introvert. Please respect my boundaries that I am speaking.”
After a struggle, McClain was handcuffed and officers requested medical assistance. Aurora Fire Rescue later injected him with ketamine in an attempt to sedate him, police said. He suffered cardiac arrest during the ambulance ride to a nearby hospital.
Aurora police released information on the incident two days later and The Denver Post published a brief story on the incident based on their release.
Aug. 30
The following Friday McClain was declared “brain dead” and was expected to be taken off life support that afternoon, family members said. He died later that day.
Oct. 1
McClain’s family called for the prosecution of the officers involved during a news conference in Aurora about a month later. The 23-year-old was unarmed, suspected of no crime and posed no threat to officers, his family’s attorney, Mari Newman, said.
Nov. 8
In early November the Adams County Coroner’s Office said that the cause and manner of McClain’s death were “undetermined.”
“The decedent was violently struggling with officers who were attempting to restrain him. Most likely the decedent’s physical exertion contributed to death,” the autopsy report said. “It is unclear if the officers’ actions contributed as well.”
Regarding the use of ketamine, which McClain’s family had called into question weeks earlier, the report said: “The blood ketamine concentration was at a theraputic level but and idiosyncratic drug reaction (unexpected reaction to a drug even at a therapeutic level) cannot be excluded” as a possible contributing factor to his death.
“Based on my review of the EMS reports, hospital records, bodycam footage from the restraining officers, and the autopsy findings, I cannot determine which manner of death is most likely,” the report concludes.
Nov. 22
Two weeks later, District Attorney Dave Young announced that no criminal charges will be filed against the Aurora police officers involved in the incident. (In June 2020, Young would defend his decision after intense national interest.)
Later that day, at 7 p.m., Aurora police held a news conference and released body camera footage from the incident on YouTube. Mari Newman, the attorney representing McClain and his family, blasted the police department, describing its announcement as a “surprise closed-door press conference about its killing of Elijah McClain.”
Newman, in a written statement, said McClain’s family wasn’t notified of the DA’s decision letter despite a promise of “transparency” by police. The Aurora police chief said he made the decision to hold the Friday-night news conference because of the decision letter.
In response to Young’s decision, McClain’s family and supporters held a rally the following day.
Feb. 6, 2020
Nearly six months after McClain’s death, an excessive force review board with the Aurora Police Department found that the actions taken by its officers were “within policy and consistent with training.”
June 6
In the wake of George Floyd’s death and nationwide police protests, demonstrators gathered on a Saturday in early June to decry the death and honor the life of McClain. The 23-year-old is just one of several controversial police killings in Colorado over the past two decades.
June 9
Days later, three members of Aurora’s city council called on the city manager to begin an independent investigation into McClain’s death.
During a news conference later that day, however, Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly said that he already had initiated a review of the death. This came as a surprise to McClain’s family, the city council and taxpayers.
Twombly said that back in February the city had hired attorney Eric Daigle, a former Connecticut State Police officer, to lead an independent investigation.
The following day Twombly would cancel that contract following a public outcry.
“I hear and understand Council’s concerns—as well as the community’s—about the individual that was hired to conduct the review,” Twombly said in a statement. “Therefore, I have canceled Mr. Daigle’s contract and will be meeting with the Council as soon as possible to determine our next steps initiating a new review.”
The news conference that brought this information to light was intended to announce police policy changes, including a ban on carotid pressure holds, a maneuver used to restrain McClain.
June 25
In late June, with growing national interest, Gov. Jared Polis designated Attorney General Phil Weiser as a special prosecutor to investigate the death of McClain a day after he said he would examine the state’s options.
The governor’s office said that if the facts support prosecution, Weiser would also criminally prosecute any individuals whose actions caused McClain’s death.
June 27
Thousands of people filled Aurora’s municipal center and shut down an Interstate 225 marching and protesting for justice for McClain. No injuries or arrests were reported during the day but as evening fell, tensions rose and police announced that the protest was now an “illegal gathering.” Police said protesters were throwing rocks and bottles and confirmed they used pepper spray on the crowd. That scene contrasted sharply with the violinists who were performing at the same time, honoring McClain who played the instrument.
Two days later, Aurora’s interim police chief said it was necessary to use lines of riot police to clear out a Saturday protest after undercover police officers heard people talking about rushing the department’s headquarters and saw people in the crowd passing out rocks.
June 29
The following week, Aurora police announced that multiple officers had been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation into photographs of officers in connection to the death of McClain.
Interim Chief of Police Vanessa Wilson released a statement at 10 p.m. Monday saying she was apprised the previous Thursday of “allegations reported to Internal Affairs by an Aurora Police Officer alleging multiple Aurora Police officers were depicted in photographs near the site where Elijah McClain died.”
An Aurora police spokesman would not talk specifically about the photographs when questioned by The Denver Post on Monday night, pending later public release.
June 30
One day after acknowledging the internal investigation, Aurora police said that it could take weeks for the department to release its investigation if any of the officers involved decide to appeal the decision.
Meanwhile, federal law enforcement agencies revealed that, since last year, they’ve been investigating McClain’s death, in addition to the city and state inquiries. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the Denver Division of the FBI said in a news release that the recent international attention around the death of McClain in August caused them to disclose their ongoing investigation.
July 2
One of the Aurora police officers under investigation for posing for photos at the site where McClain was arrested tendered his resignation, the department said less than a week after the investigation was announced. Jaron Jones had been with the department since October 2016, police said.
July 3
The following day, Aurora police released the images at the center of the investigation and interim Chief Vanessa Wilson fired two of the three officers in the photos from last October. The third officer pictured resigned earlier in the week. A fourth officer who received the photo was also terminated.
In one of the images, officers are seen reenacting a carotid pressure hold at the site of McClain’s arrest.
The department also released the full internal affairs investigation into the incident.
That fourth officer was Jason Rosenblatt, one of the three officers involved in McClain’s death last summer. Wilson said that he recieved the photo in a group text message and replied “ha ha.”
Erica Marrero and Kyle Dittrich were the two officers terminated who were in the photos. Jaron Jones, the third officer in the photos had already resigned. The following week, Marrero and Dittrich appealed their terminations for snapping selfies mocking the death of Elijah McClain at the site where he was put into a carotid chokehold. Rosenblatt also appealed his firing for texting “ha ha” in response to the pictures. Rosenblatt has sued the city and interim Chief Vanessa Wilson over his dismissal.
July 6
City Manager Jim Twombly, speaking to Mayor Mike Coffman and city council members in a study session, said the job of investigating the death of Elijah McClain is too big for one person and a team will be assembled including both local and national members.
A panel is currently being put together by Twombly and Councilwoman Allison Hiltz. The pair expect to have names of candidates ready for the July 20 study session.
Once assembled, and passed by a city council vote, the team will go about its work looking at prior reviews and investigations with the goal of making recommendations and changes to police and fire department policies, directives and training. It will not be a criminal investigation.
July 11 – 13
A candlelight vigil was held at Utah Park in Aurora. Demonstrators organized a car protest that included more than 200 vehicles and blocked traffic for several blocks, calling for justice for Elijah McClain and to defund the Aurora Police Department. For weeks prior, murals began popping up across Denver as part of the #SprayTheirName art campaign.
July 23
Aurora community leaders filed a class action lawsuit against the city’s police department and its interim chief, accusing them of unconstitutional treatment while breaking up a protest and violin vigil for Elijah McClain. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, addresses police response to the June 27 protest, when thousands gathered outside the department’s headquarters to rally for justice for McClain. After hours of peaceful protest and marches, police showed up in riot gear and clashed with protesters.
July 25
The shrieks came from the back of the crowd on Interstate 225 in Aurora, where demonstrators shut down the highway in both directions to protest the death of Elijah McClain. They had been peacefully marching, chanting and shouting. But this screaming was different.
Those in the back of the group screamed to get off the road, to get out of the way, according to witness accounts and videos taken at the scene. Aurora police said a protester fired a weapon — eyewitnesses said that firing may have been aimed at the driver — hitting another protester, who was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Two protesters were shot or grazed, and another fell or jumped from the highway, breaking her leg. The police response to the protest questioned by community members and city leaders.
The Arapahoe County District Attorney later charged Samuel Alvin Young, 23, of Wheat Ridge, with four counts of attempted first-degree murder and other felonies for firing a revolver into a crowd of people at the protest.
July 29
Colorado’s public health department reopened its investigation into the use of ketamine on Elijah McClain after a torrent of requests prompted by international attention to McClain’s death in Aurora.
Aug. 11
Elijah McClain‘s parents filed a federal lawsuit alleging the Aurora police officers and paramedics involved in his death violated his constitutional rights and that McClain’s death is yet another example of how systemic racism in the police department harms the city’s Black residents.
The same day, Colorado’s Attorney General said that his office has been conducting a broad investigation into the policies and practices of the Aurora Police Department, which also announced it would participate in a city-led review of its policing.
Aug. 22
Colorado’s health department announced it plans to review the state’s ketamine waiver program — an announcement that comes nearly one year to the day that Aurora paramedics used the strong sedative on Elijah McClain. The state department grants waivers to first responders to use ketamine to treat extreme agitation in a non-hospital setting. About 90 fire departments and emergency medical service agencies in the state have such waivers.
Aug. 23
Hundreds gathered in a Denver park with McClain’s family to remember the young man with dancing and music. The joyful event was held in lieu of a previously planned march and marked the one-year anniversary of when McClain was detained by Aurora police.
Sept. 14
Aurora City Council voted to temporarily ban the city’s first responders from using ketamine in the field. The ban lasts until 30 days after the completion of a city-commissioned investigation into McClain’s death.
Jan. 8, 2021
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced he will open a grand jury investigation into McClain’s death. Grand jury investigations are by nature secretive. The public will not have access to information about evidence or witnesses presented in the case, though the grand jury will have the discretion to issue a report on its findings if the investigation does not result in charges.
July 7
Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law banning police officers from directing paramedics and other medical professionals to use ketamine on someone — a piece of legislation inspired by McClain’s death.
HB21-1251 requires those professionals to weigh people (or make a weight estimate confirmed by at least two other experts) before injecting someone with ketamine. The law also bars medical providers from using ketamine to subdue someone suspected of criminal behavior except in a justifiable medical emergency.
Aug. 24
Ahead of the two-year anniversary of her son’s death, Sheneen McClain asked people not to hold rallies in Elijah’s honor, saying “there’s no way to celebrate this anniversary.”
“His legacy has to be about what’s right in this world, but, unfortunately, his death is highlighted by what is wrong in the world,” Sheneen told The Denver Post. “Elijah’s legacy is about how humanity matters, how our lives matter.”
Sept. 1
Weiser, the Colorado attorney general, announces that a statewide grand jury has returned a 32-count criminal indictment against the Aurora police officers and paramedics who were involved in McClain’s death.
This timeline will be updated as needed. Check denverpost.com/tag/elijah-mcclain/ for the latest information.
Rob Denton, Sam Tabachnik, Elise Schmelzer, Kieran Nicholson and Elizabeth Hernandez contributed to this report.
