AURORA REMEMBERS MCCLAIN
Demonstrators gather in Aurora to remember Elijah Mcclain, who died after a struggle with police officers who were responding to a call of a “suspicious person” wearing a mask.
Demonstrators gathered Saturday in Aurora to decry the death and honor the life of Elijah Mcclain, 23, who was declared braindead in August, days after Aurora police tackled him, performed a choke hold and injected him with Ketamine while Mcclain was walking along Billings Street.
Amid nationwide protest movements sparked by the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, Mcclain’s mother, Sheneen Mcclain, told the Aurora Sentinel: “I cannot speak on George’s death because Colorado didn’t care about Elijah’s death. Selective Protesting. Colorado fails i(n) accountability for their own residents but urges justice for someone in a different ZIP Code.”
Among the protesters out Saturday was Midian Holmes. “I didn’t show up (when Mcclain was killed), and that’s not OK. As this continues to happen, the moment we normalize it is the moment we all come complicit,” Holmes said.
On Aug. 24, Aurora police officers responded to a call about a “suspicious person” wearing a ski mask and waving his arms, police have said. Family members said that Mcclain often wore masks when outside because of the blood condition anemia, which made him become cold easily.
Mcclain, who was unarmed, refused to stop when police first approached him. The 140-pound man was tackled and pinned to the ground with officers using a “carotid control hold” on him.
Mcclain whimpered, asking police to stop, informing officers he couldn’t breathe and vomiting multiple times.
Adams County District Attorney Dave Young found no criminal acts were committed by Aurora officers the day Mcclain died.
Speaking to the crowd that gathered despite powerful winds, Ryan Ross, who has made a career out of helping create leadership opportunities for minority youths, urged: “Educate yourself. Understand you’ve been lied to for a long time. Ignorance is not bliss, and it can’t be tolerated.”
The event was interrupted by a brief but intense storm that drove the crowd inside the Aurora Municipal Center.
The weather also threatened George Floyd protesters else
where in Colorado, including in downtown Denver. Still, people gathered for a 10th straight night — the second since Denver lifted its curfew and the first since a federal judge ordered Denver police to limit their use of chemicals and projectiles on protesters.
Clashes between protesters and police have died down in recent days, and the demonstrations have taken on a less-tense atmosphere.
At Civic Center, a crowd of about 1,000 people — fewer than have turned out previously — sat or stood on the lawn listening as speakers shared their fears about family members’ safety because of police behavior.
The Brothers of Brass performed and led the crowd as it began to march about 7 p.m.