A Colorado paramedic was sentenced Friday, March 1, to five years in prison in a rare prosecution of medical responders following the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man whose name became part of the rallying cries for social justice that swept the U.S. in 2020.
A civil rights investigation that was launched amid outrage over the death of Elijah McClain — a Black man put into a chokehold during an encounter with suburban Denver police two years ago — found a deeply engrained culture of racially biased policing within the department, Colorado’s attorney general said Wednesday. Attorney General Phil Weiser said the investigation found the Aurora Police Department has long had a culture in which officers treat people of color — especially Black people — differently than white people. He said the agency also has a pattern of using unlawful excessive force; frequently escalates encounters with civilians;
The indictments of three suburban Denver officers and two paramedics on manslaughter and other charges in the death of Elijah McClain could be a pivotal step toward meaningful police accountability, law enforcement reform advocates say. “Our hope has been renewed,” said Candice Bailey, an activist in the city of Aurora who has been a liaison between the community and police and has led demonstrations over the death of McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who was put into a chokehold and injected with a powerful sedative in 2019. The charges come as Colorado’s elected leaders have taken strides to toughen repercussions
For too long, Black people in America have been burdened with the unjust responsibility of keeping ourselves safe from police.