Elijah McClain: police use pepper spray to disperse violin vigil

Police dressed in riot gear used pepper spray to disperse a largely peaceful gathering of thousands of protestors in Aurora, Colorado, who had come together over the weekend to demand justice for Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old who went into a coma and died after being placed in a chokehold by officers last year.

Saturday’s events began in City Center Park as local musicians played violins at a vigil that had been planned to pay respects to McClain, who studied the instrument for much of his life and had played to soothe stray cats.

By late evening, however, police began warning demonstrators that they had to leave the “illegal gathering” or they would use pepper spray to disperse the crowds, according to the Denver Post.

As police advanced, demonstrators locked arms to form a human chain around the violinists, protecting them from officers. In videos captured by bystanders and posted on social media, the sound of strings is heard before it is drowned out by screaming demonstrators and demands from police that protesters disperse.

Protesters chanted phrases such as: “Why are you in riot gear? I don’t see no riot here!”

“Pepper spray was used after a small group of people gathered rocks [and] sticks, knocked over a fence, & ignored orders to move back,” the Aurora police department said in a statement, adding that “tear gas was not used”.

Authorities confirmed “three people were taken into custody for violating lawful orders after warnings were given”.

Protestors later shut down a major highway as they marched for McClain. Unrest has continued across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd, with calls to re-examine all deaths of unarmed black people in law enforcement custody growing nationwide.

The vigil for McClain came after more than 3 million people signed an online petition demanding the Aurora mayor, Mike Coffman; the city’s police department; and Adams county “bring justice for Elijah” through “a more indepth” investigation.

The petition demands that the two officers involved be fired and prosecuted. So far, they remain on the force after the county district attorney, Dave Young, concluded there was “no reasonable likelihood of success of proving any state crimes beyond a reasonable doubt at trial” last November.

However, the state attorney general, Phil Weiser, has since announced his office would investigate McClain’s death, stating that “whenever someone dies after an encounter with law enforcement, the community deserves a thorough investigation”.

“Elijah McClain should be alive today,” he said in a statement released on Thursday. “His life mattered and his death was tragic. The pain, frustration, and anger that his family and many Coloradans are feeling from his death is understandable and justified.”

The Colorado governor, Jared Polis, has appointed Weiser as a special prosecutor to investigate McClain’s death.