Elijah McClain’s Family Settles Lawsuit With The City Of Aurora, Colorado 2 Years After His Death

Elijah McClain’s Family Settles Lawsuit With The City Of Aurora, Colorado 2 Years After His Death

The family of Elijah McClain has reached a settlement with the city of Aurora, Colorado.

Elijah McClain died while in the custody of Aurora police and paramedics in 2019. According to attorneys his mother, Sheneen McClain, reached an ‘unspecified settlement’ with the city yesterday (Tuesday, Oct. 19).

Elijah McClain

As previously reported, Elijah McClain was walking home from the grocery store in August 2019 when he was stopped by three Aurora police officers. In the moments that followed, McClain was then accused of reaching for one of the officer’s weapons while they attempted to pat him down. As a result, an officer put him in a chokehold.

Body-cam footage from the involved officers showed McClain struggling for air, repeating that he couldn’t breathe. In the footage, he can be heard saying,

“I have no gun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do any fighting. Why are you attacking me? I don’t even kill flies.”

McClain eventually passed out, to which he was injected with ketamine to be sedated, and died three days later. His parents filed a lawsuit against the city of Aurora in August 202o for the illegal stop that resulted in their son’s death.

The settlement that was reached will reportedly ‘resolve all claims raised in federal civil rights lawsuit.’ The court will determine how the money will be allocated between McClain’s parents.

A statement released from Elijah’s father’s lawyer said,

“Nothing will bring back his son Elijah, who he loved dearly, but he is hopeful that this settlement with Aurora, and the criminal charges against the officers and medics who killed Elijah, will allow his family and the community to begin to heal.”

Randy Roedema, Nathan Woodyard and Jason Rosenblatt and fire department paramedic Jeremy Cooper and fire Lt. Peter Cichuniec

In September of this year, former officers Randy Roedema, Nathan Woodyard, and Jason Rosenblatt, fire department paramedic Jeremy Cooper and fire Lt. Peter Cichuniec, were charged with one count of manslaughter and one count of criminally negligent homicide.

What are your thoughts on the settlement? Tell us in the comments. 

[VIA]