#JusticeForElijahMcClain I’m disgusted. Over year before we heard this story. Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old black massage therapist, died following forceful detention by police and subsequent sedation by paramedics in Aurora, Colorado on August 24, 2019. A 9-1-1 call from a citizen indicated that a man in a ski mask, later identified as McClain, was acting suspiciously. The caller also indicated that he did not believe anyone was in danger, and that he believed McClain was unarmed. The three police officers who were involved in the incident claimed that their body cameras were knocked off during the struggle with him. While en route to the hospital, paramedics administered ketamine to sedate McClain, who then went into cardiac arrest. McClain died seven days later after being removed from life support. McClain's autopsy was inconclusive. According to McClain’s family, the 23-year-old had made a quick trip to the convenience store to pick up an iced tea for his brother. His sister later told a local ABC affiliate, Denver7, that McClain was wearing an open-face ski mask because he “had anemia and would sometimes get cold.” And although he was unarmed, simply walking home and, his sister said, listening to music, police say “a struggle ensued.” One officer accused McClain of reaching for his gun, and one put him in a carotid hold, which involves an officer applying pressure to the side of a person’s neck in order to temporarily cut off blood flow to the brain. “Due to the level of physical force applied while restraining the subject and his agitated mental state,” officers then called Aurora First Responders, who “administered life-saving measures,” according to a local NBC affiliate. Paramedics injected McClain with what they said was a “therapeutic” amount of ketamine to sedate him, while officers held him down. McClain went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital, and was taken off life support on August 30. His family said at the time that he was brain dead, and covered in bruises. #BlackLivesMatter #RaiseAwareness #ElijahMcCain https://www.instagram.com/p/CB3qtNFnwvI/?igshid=12babj23bto68
