State reopens probe in 2019 death of Black

DENVER — The Colorado governor told the state’s top prosecutor Thursday to reopen the investigation into the death of Elijah Mcclain, a 23-year-old Black man put into a chokehold by police who stopped him last year on the street in suburban Denver.

Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order directing state Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate Mcclain’s death and possibly prosecute the three white officers involved.

Mcclain’s name has become a rallying cry during the reckoning over racism and police brutality after the deaths of George Floyd and others.

“Elijah Mcclain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern,” Polis said in a statement.

He said he had spoken with McClain’s mother and was moved by her description of her son as a “responsible and curious child … who could inspire the darkest soul.”

Police in Aurora received a call about a suspicious person wearing a ski mask and waving his arms as he walked down a street on Aug. 24. Police say Mcclain refused to stop walking and fought back when officers tried to take him into custody.

One of the officers put him in a chokehold, which cuts off blood to the brain. The move has been banned in several places in the wake of Floyd’s death May 25 under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

According to police body-camera video, Mcclain told officers: “Let go of me. I am an introvert. Please respect the boundaries that I am speaking.”

He was kept on the ground for 15 minutes, then paramedics gave him 500 milligrams of a sedative. He suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and was declared brain dead Aug. 27. He was taken off life support three days later.