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The Aurora, Colorado Police Department has embarked on a racist and excessive force model of policing, according to an investigation that began after the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a young man black who was arrested by the police, suffocated and injected with a strong anesthetic.
The investigation, conducted by the Colorado Department of Law, found that police officers in the city of about 380,000 Denver residents arrested and used force more often against people of color than against whites, based on their percentage. Population.
For example, from January 2018 to February 2021, nearly half of the people police in Aurora used force against were blacks, even though blacks make up only about 15% of the city’s residents. according to the survey.
The investigation also found that Aurora Fire Rescue had a habit of illegally administering ketamine, the anesthetic used on Mr. McClain, often in higher doses than recommended, before the department suspended its use on September 14, 2020.
The findings of the civil inquiry were released by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, two weeks after he announced that a grand jury had indicted three Aurora police officers and two paramedics with manslaughter in Mr. McClain, 23.
The report recommended that the police service enter into a consent order that would require changes to policies, training, record keeping and hiring. If the department does not agree to enter into such a deal, the state could seek a court order compelling it to make changes, Weiser said.
“For us, the guiding light is how to build trust in law enforcement and in government, so that people are treated legally and fairly,” Mr. Weiser, a Democrat, said at the time. of a press conference on Wednesday. “It won’t happen overnight. “
Aurora police chief Vanessa Wilson said the department will work with the attorney general’s office “to determine how to implement the necessary and lasting changes” and that a “final consent decree will serve as another resource. in our way forward “.
Chief Wilson said that over the past 21 months, Aurora has improved its policing, de-escalation training and community outreach.
“Today is incredibly difficult not only for the Aurora community but for this agency,” she said in a statement. “We recognize that there are changes to be made.”
Jim Twombly, City Manager, said local leaders were determined to embrace a “new way” of policing.
“I’m still digesting the details of the attorney general’s report, and it’s painful to hear,” Twombly said in a statement. “It would be premature for me to comment on specific findings at this time. “
However, he said, the findings appear to match the findings and recommendations of independent reviews the city commissioned more than a year ago, ahead of the attorney general’s investigation.
Fire Chief Fernando Gray said in a statement that although the department stopped using ketamine over a year ago, “and we have no plans to reintroduce this drug into our system, we find value in the report “.
Mr Weiser announced the investigation in August 2020 amid nationwide protests against police violence following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Mr McClain’s death had also sparked protests and calls for justice.
Mr McClain, who has been described by friends and family as a gentle, animal-loving person, was walking home from a convenience store on August 24, 2019, when someone called 911 to report a suspicious person .
Officers grabbed Mr. McClain’s arms, pushed him against a wall, and pulled him to the ground. They used a “carotid plug” to subdue Mr. McClain – a potentially dangerous strain on the neck that restricts blood to the brain.
“I’m an introvert and I’m different,” McClain told police, according to audio recordings of the judgment. “I’m just different. That’s all. That’s all I was doing. I am really sorry.”
Mr McClain was already handcuffed when paramedics arrived, and the indictment alleged that they had not spoken to Mr McClain, checked his vital signs or monitored him properly after injecting him with ketamine .
Mr. McClain was taken to hospital unconscious and never recovered. He was removed from the resuscitation system and died on August 30, 2019.
An autopsy report from the Adams County coroner said the cause of death was “undetermined” and could have been natural causes, homicide related to the carotid seizure or an accident.
In the civilian investigation by the Colorado Department of Law, investigators spent more than 220 hours “escorting” police and firefighters and reviewed thousands of use of force reports, Weiser said. .
Aurora police and firefighters “fully cooperated” with the investigation, he said.
The report found that police used to violate federal and state laws, Weiser said.
Investigators saw officers use force to take people to the ground without giving them time to respond to orders or after telling people to “stop resisting” even when it looked like they weren’t resisting. Mr. Weiser said.
Investigators also saw officers “immediately step up” encounters with people in mental distress but not posing a danger to themselves or others, he said.
“These actions are unacceptable,” Mr. Weiser said. “They hurt the people the police are responsible for protecting. And they destroy the trust of the community.
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