The details of the settlement are not yet publicly known.
The mother of Elijah McCain, a black man who died after an altercation with Colorado law enforcement agencies, has settled her state civil rights lawsuit against the city of Aurora and its police force.
McClain, notes CBS News, was walking home from a supermarket when someone called 9-1-1 to report a suspicious person. Police arrested McClain shortly after his sighting. A confrontation erupted when officers ordered McClain to stop.
McClain went further, however, and officials tried to subdue him.
After speaking to the police, McClain told officers that he was on his way home and had not harmed or harmed anyone. He then stated that he had heard music and had therefore not heard the officers’ orders.
While Aurora police officers said McClain was violent and tried to reach for their guns, body camera footage of the encounter does not capture any evidence to support these allegations.
However, since McClain was reportedly confrontational, medics injected him with ketamine to calm him down.
McClain then suffered a “heart event” on the way to the hospital; he was put on life support and died a few days later.
“The brutality of Aurora denied Elijah almost all of his adult life, a life full of promise for both him and the many people with whom he would have shared his light and compassion,” the lawsuit filed in August 2020 reads .
Ambulance. Image via Wikimedia Commons / user: Scott Sanchez. Listed in the public domain.
The lawsuit alleged the city, three police officers and paramedics violated McClain’s civil rights when they put McClain in a stranglehold and then injected him with ketamine.
NBC News notes that McClain was sedated for showing symptoms of a “dubious” condition called “agitated delirium.”
“Elijah was listening to music and enjoying the short walk home from the shop around the corner with some iced tea when Aurora police grabbed, grabbed and attacked him,” the lawsuit said.
An attorney for McClain’s mother, Sheneen, told CBS News that they had reached an agreement with the city to “settle any claims made in their federal civil rights lawsuit.”
The details of the comparison are not yet public.
“The court will now determine the division of the proceeds between Ms. McClain, the parent who raised Elijah McClain alone, and Lawayne Mosley, the absent biological father,” said the attorney.
A Mosley attorney issued a separate statement on his behalf.
“Nothing will bring back his son Elijah, whom he loved dearly, but he hopes that this settlement with Aurora and the charges against the officers and medics who killed Elijah will heal his family and the community,” lawyer said.
sources
Elijah McClain’s family settles with Aurora, Colorado over a police confrontation (CBS)
Elijah McClain’s family settles with Aurora, Colorado over a police confrontation (NBC)
