NO RIGHT TO BE LEFT THE FUCK ALONE & NO RIGHT TO RESIST UNLAWFUL ARREST IN FREE RANGE PRISON. From [HERE] and [HERE] Demonstrators gathered in Aurora on Saturday to protest the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain. He died after being detained by police in August of 2019.

McClain died at a hospital after a violent arrest on the evening of August 24, 2019. McClain was walking home after he had gone to a corner store to purchase tea. Although one of the officers acknowledged that McClain was not a suspect of criminal activity, the 140-pound man was tackled and pinned to the ground by three white officers using a “carotid control hold” [sleeper hold] on him. After McClain was handcuffed, authorities injected him with ketamine. The drug is used for sedation purposes.

McClain suffered cardiac arrest during the ambulance ride to a nearby hospital. Elijah McClain was declared “brain dead” on Aug. 27 at a local hospital, where he was later taken off life support.

The Aurora officers involved are Randy Roedema, Jason Rosenblatt and Nathan Woodyard. Last week Aurora Police department released body camera footage of the confrontation which clearly shows excessive use of force. The police officers were clear of wrongdoing and continue in their jobs.

A passerby reported him as “suspicious” due to his ‘mannerisms’ of ‘waving his arms’ as he walked down a street  and the ski mask he was wearing. The encounter was captured on police body camera video which was released in November. In the video no weird mannerisms are on display. He looked like he was walking home with groceries.

McClain, who routinely wore masks when outside because he had anemia and became cold easily, according to family, refused to stop for officers when they first contacted him. However, the police apparently had no legal justification to stop him in the first place. “I have a right to go where I am going,” he said. Officers said McClain refused to stop and fought back when they tried to take him into custody. McClain said: “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.”

The 140-pound man was tackled and pinned to the ground with officers using a “carotid control hold” on him. McClain begged, asking police to stop, informing officers he couldn’t breathe and vomiting multiple times. Officers responding to the scene then requested that a paramedic administer medication (a dose of ketamine) "due to the level of physical force applied while restraining the subject and his agitated mental state." According to Young’s report, officers said they took McClain to the ground when he tried to grab one of their holstered guns. Even though McCain was a 140-pound man, the three officers claimed that McClain was super strong and they assumed that he was on drugs or a stimulant.“Whatever he is on, he has crazy strength,” one officer said. The autopsy found only ketamine and marijuana in his system.

The family’s attorney, Mari Newman says about the body camera footage "He is laying on the ground vomiting, he is begging, he is saying, 'I can't breathe.' One of the officers says, 'Don't move again. If you move again, I'm calling in a dog to bite you,'" At one point, an officer spotted another officer’s body camera pointed at him: “Move your camera, dude,” the officer said.

On the same day when McClain died, Adams County District Attorney Dave Young [racist suspect in photo] found no criminal actions by Aurora police during his investigation into the death of Elijah McClain. Dave Young, in a letter dated Friday to Aurora Police Chief Nick Metz, said: “From the officers’ perception, it went from an investigatory stop to a potential life-threatening incident, and it certainly raised the officers’ use of force.

According to a letter released by the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office Friday evening. “Applying the facts of this incident, to the applicable Colorado law, the evidence does not support the filing of any state criminal charges against the involved officers for the unfortunate and tragic death of Mr. McClain.” [MORE]

Earlier this month, the city of Aurora announced they were moving forward with an independent investigation into the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. However, on June 11th the city of Aurora terminated the contract of the attorney selected to lead the Elijah McClain death investigation after members of the Aurora City Council voiced concerns over his neutrality. The assigned attorney, Eric Daigle, is a former police officer who specializes in use of force cases.

In a letter Tuesday to the Aurora City Manager, council members requested an independent, third party review of McClain’s death. In a statement last Wednesday (6/11), members of the Aurora City Council criticized City Manager Jim Twombly’s decision to appoint Daigle as head of the investigation.

“In asking for an independent, neutral, 3rd party review, it was important to us to begin the process of rebuilding trust with our community. Unfortunately, an attorney with a long career in law enforcement that specializes in defending municipal police departments from liability claims doesn’t qualify, in our minds, as a neutral review. This is especially true considering there is a pending civil suit in this case,” stated the council members.

In a tweet Wednesday, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said he would work with Aurora City Council to select someone new to lead the investigation into McClain’s death.