Colorado police officers fired for mocking death of a black man
THREE police officers in Colorado were fired over photos which showed them mockingly re-enact a chokehold used on Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old black man who died last year after police stopped him for acting suspiciously in Denver.
Vanessa Wilson, the acting police chief in the Denver suburb of Aurora, where the incident took place last August, said the images were “beyond comprehension”.
She told reporters: “We are ashamed, we are sickened, and we are angry about what I have to share.” She added: “While the allegations are not criminal, they are a crime against humanity and decency.”
Police stopped McClain, a massage therapist, after a 911 call reported him because he was wearing a ski mask and flailing his arms. He begged them repeatedly to let go of him.
Body camera video shows McClain trying to escape the officer’s grip before the chokehold is applied.
Paramedics called to the incident injected him with a sedative to try and calm him down.
He later died although no officer was charged in connection with the death.
The mocking photos were sent to Jason Rosenblatt, a white officer who helped stop McClain, two months after he died. Rosenblatt responded with a text saying, “Haha.”
Nathan Woodyard, the officer who put McClain in the chokehold, also received the photos. But he was not disciplined because he didn’t respond.
Terrence Roberts, a family friend, said: “Rosenblatt got fired not for killing Elijah, not for murdering Elijah, but for making fun of Elijah”
Officers Kyle Dittrich, Erica Marrero and Jaron Jones – none of whom confronted McClain – smiled and placed each other in a chokehold in the photos. Rosenblatt, Dittrich and Marrero were fired for conduct unbecoming of an officer. Jones resigned.