TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE

City of Aurora Agrees to Historic $15M Settlement for Elijah McClain’s Death

An independent review revealed the officers placed McClain in a “carotid chokehold that restricts the carotid artery and cuts off blood to the brain.”

Over a year after the family of Elijah McClain, a Black man who died at the hands of three Aurora police officers following a violent arrest, filed a federal lawsuit, the City of Aurora has agreed to settle with a $15 million payout, reports ABC News. According to an official briefed on the matter, the payout is Colorado’s largest police settlement ever. The federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Colorado alleges the three officers violated McClain’s civil rights and are to blame for his death.

McClain, 23, was reported as “sketchy” by someone in the area on Aug. 24, 2019, when police confronted and used extreme force to arrest him and injected him with ketamine. McClain died three days later after doctors pronounced him brain dead. An independent review revealed the officers placed McClain in a “carotid chokehold that restricts the carotid artery and cuts off blood to the brain,” despite McClain’s apologies and pleas for help.