The Elijah McClain case will go to a grand jury. The Colorado attorney general recently announced he’s launching a grand jury investigation to further examine the late man’s killing.
“Under the Governor’s executive order, the Attorney General’s Office continues to conduct an independent investigation concerning the events of August 24, 2019 involving Elijah McClain and his subsequent death,” Attorney General Philip Jacob Weiser said in a statement.
“The grand jury is an investigative tool that has the power to compel testimony from witnesses and require production of documents and other relevant information. Our investigation will be thorough, guided by the facts and law, and worthy of the public’s trust. In order to maintain the impartiality and integrity of the process.”
Weiser’s announcement comes after he was appointed to investigate McClain’s passing.
McClain was on his way home from a convenience store last August when he was stopped by police responding to calls of a “suspicious man” wearing a ski mask. According to a police report, law enforcement tried to stop McClain, but he “resisted contact.” Though body cameras weren’t activated, audio captured the young man telling cops he was turning down his music so that he could hear them. One of the officers alleged McClain was attempting to grab his partner’s gun, and they placed him in a chokehold, pinning him to the ground for 15 minutes. Emergency responders who arrived at the scene injected McClain with 500 milligrams of ketamine before he went into cardiac arrest and fell into a coma. He died after being taken off life support a few days later.
The officers involved in McClain’s killing were intially placed on paid leave, but were reinstated after no criminal charges were filed against them. A critical incident review of the incident later determined their use of force was consistent with their training, but thousands signed an online petition calling for the reopening of the investigation into McClain’s death. Weiser was appointed to conduct an independent investigation into the case. The City of Aurora is also reportedly conducting its own investigation of the police department, per CNN.