Officers And Paramedics Are Charged In Elijah McClain’s 2019 Death In Colorado

FILE – In this June 27, 2020, file photo, demonstrators carry a giant placard during a rally and march over the death of Elijah McClain outside the police department in Aurora, Colo. Colorado’s attorney general said Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021 that a grand jury indicted three officers and two paramedics in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was put in a chokehold and injected with a powerful sedative two years ago in suburban Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Three suburban Denver police officers and two paramedics were indicted on manslaughter and other charges in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was put in a chokehold and injected with a powerful sedative two years ago, Colorado’s attorney general said Wednesday.

The 23-year-old’s death gained widespread attention during last year’s protests against racial injustice and police brutality following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. 

McClain’s pleading words captured on police body camera video — “I’m just different” — were posted on signs at protests and spoken by celebrities who joined those calling for the prosecution of the officers who stopped McClain as he walked down the street in the city of Aurora after a 911 caller reported that he looked suspicious.