Elijah McClain

Elijah McClain was a massage therapist who loved animals and who taught himself to play the guitar and the violin. He often spent his lunch breaks at local animal shelters, putting on concerts for cats and dogs because he believed music would help soothe their anxiety. Those who knew him describe him as gentle: “I don’t even think he would set a mouse trap if there was a rodent problem,” his friend, Eric Behrens, told the Sentinel.

He often developed friendships with his massage clients, like April Young, who told the Sentinel: “He had a child-like spirit … He lived in his own little world. He was never into, like, fitting in. He just was who he was.”

“He was the sweetest, purest person I have ever met,” another of his friends and former clients, Marna Arnett, added. “He was definitely a light in a whole lot of darkness.” Arnett believes that, in addition to helping manage a chronic chill that McClain attributed to his anemia, wearing a mask helped him manage his social anxiety. “He would hide behind that mask,” Arnett said. “It was protection for him, too. It made him more comfortable being in the outside world.”

Mr. McClain was walking home from a convenience store on Aug. 24 when someone called 911, saying he “looked sketchy” and was wearing a ski mask and waving his arms.

The police arrived, and after struggling to handcuff Mr. McClain, officers brought him to the ground and used a carotid hold, which restricts blood to the brain to render someone unconscious. When medical responders arrived, after about 15 minutes, paramedics injected him with ketamine, a powerful sedative.

It is unclear what exactly caused Mr. McClain to go into cardiac arrest.

An autopsy report by the Adams County coroner said that the cause of death was “undetermined,” and that it could have been a result of natural causes, a homicide related to the carotid hold, or an accident.

But while he was detained, Mr. McClain was clearly in distress. After officers restrained him on the ground, he vomited several times, for which he apologized, saying, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to do that, I can’t breathe correctly.”

An officer said in the body camera footage that officers had “put him out” with a carotid hold twice, “at least once successfully,” meaning Mr. McClain had lost consciousness.

When paramedics arrived, they gave him what was described as a “therapeutic” dose of ketamine; body camera footage shows that it made his body go limp when he was loaded onto a gurney.

The autopsy report, released in November, said a combination of factors could have killed Mr. McClain.

Mr. McClain was “violently struggling with officers, who were attempting to restrain him,” the report read. “Most likely the decedent’s physical exertion contributed to death. It is unclear if the officers’ actions contributed as well.”

In the report, it was also noted that Mr. McClain had chronic asthma.

One officer approached Mr. McClain, who was listening to music, and told him to stop walking. Mr. McClain stopped after several commands but said he had a right to continue toward home.

According to the camera footage, the officer responded, saying he had a right to stop Mr. McClain for looking suspicious, and grabbed him by the arms. As another officer approached, Mr. McClain can be heard saying, “I am an introvert, please respect the boundaries that I am speaking. Leave me alone.”

Though Mr. McClain had not committed a crime, officers immediately restrained him, telling him to stop resisting when he put his arms up to his chest and to “stop tensing up.” The footage shows Mr. McClain pleading with the officers to let go of him, and trying to get out of their grip.

The officers eventually brought him to the ground, claiming he had reached for one of their guns while they were pinning him against a wall to handcuff him. The body camera footage does not show this, officers said, because their cameras had fallen off into the grass.

At one point, an officer tells Mr. McClain that he would use his dog on him if he did not “stop messing around.”

More officers arrived after Mr. McClain was restrained. While talking with one another, officers said that Mr. McClain was “acting crazy,” that he was “definitely on something,” and that he had attacked officers when they tried to restrain him. They also said he had “incredible, crazy strength,” and that at one point three officers were on top of him.

The autopsy report notes that Mr. McClain was 5 feet 6 inches and weighed 140 pounds.

A few days after the autopsy report was released, Dave Young, the Adams County district attorney, announced that criminal charges would not be filed, saying there was not enough evidence the officers had broken the law when they used force on Mr. McClain.

The decision angered Mr. McClain’s family, and this spring, his mother pushed lawmakers to adopt police reforms. As the case garnered more attention in recent weeks, Vanessa Wilson, the interim chief of the Aurora Police Department, announced a ban on carotid holds, like the one used on Mr. McClain.

Officers are also now required to report excessive force used by their colleagues, and to announce their intention to use deadly force before firing their weapon.

And on Thursday, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado signed an executive order appointing the state’s attorney general, Phil Weiser, to re-examine the case and file charges if the facts support prosecution.

“Elijah McClain should be alive today,” Mr. Polis said in a statement, “and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern.”

On June 25, Colorado governor Jared Polis signed an executive order to appoint the state’s attorney general, Phil Weiser, to investigate the case and, if the facts support prosecution, “criminally prosecute any individuals whose actions caused the death of Elijah McClain.”

“I was moved by speaking with Elijah’s mother and her description of her son as a responsible and curious child … who could inspire the darkest soul,” Polis said in a statement. “Elijah McClain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern.”

“As a father, my heart breaks for the McClain family,” Polis added. “All Coloradans should be safe walking home from the convenience store, or just being in their own neighborhoods listening to headphones. Unfortunately, I know that is not how many people — especially young people of color — feel in our state today, because I’ve heard it from them directly. We need to do a better job, and at a bare minimum, they deserve a thorough review of the case.”