The report also questions the officers ‘statements about McClain’s “superior strength,” criticizing medical workers’ rash decision to inject him with the tranquilizer ketamine, and admonishing police for not seriously questioning the officers afterward.
“At the time of the (ketamine) injection, Mr. McClain had not moved or made any noise for about a minute,” the report said. “In addition, EMS administered a ketamine dose based on a very inaccurate and inflated estimate of Mr. McClain’s size.”
His mother’s lawyers, Sheneen McClain, released a statement on Monday praising the investigative report and slamming the police’s “ sham investigation. ”
Aurora is responsible for the tragic death of Elijah because of the illegal and unscrupulous actions of its employees, the lawyers said.
“Elijah believed in humanity and that humanity mattered,” Sheneen McClain said in the statement. “Inhuman people are a problem and we must end unjust laws.”
“This report confirms what we have said from the beginning,” McClain’s father, LaWayne Mosley, said in a statement. “Aurora police and the medics who killed my son must be held accountable.”
Sheneen McClain cried when the report was released, she told CNN’s Omar Jimenez on Monday.
“It was overwhelming to know that my son was innocent all the time and was just waiting for the facts and proof of it,” McClain said. ‘My son’s name has now been erased, he is no longer labeled as a suspect. He’s actually a victim. ‘
She tearfully admitted that she had watched the camera images of the body over and over because she never said goodbye.
“I’ve looked at everything that’s happened to him because it’s my responsibility,” she said. Even after his death, he is still my son. His name, his legacy. That all matters. ‘
Police declined to comment further on the report. CNN has contacted Aurora Fire Rescue for comment.
Aurora City Council funded the report in an effort to get an independent third-party investigation of McClain’s case. The investigation was conducted by a panel consisting of Jonathan Smith, executive director of the Washington Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs; Roberto Villaseñor, former Tucson police chief; and Dr. Melissa Costello, a practicing emergency care physician and medical director of EMS, based in Mobile, Alabama.
In investigating the case, the panel relied on the 911 call, camera images of the officer’s body, reports and accounts of the incident, and medical records. The panel also relied on seven filmed interviews with police officers and first responders on the scene conducted by a detective from the Aurora Police Major Crime / Homicide Unit. However, these seven witnesses declined to be interviewed by the panel.
The investigation team is expected to present its findings to the Aurora City Council Monday afternoon. The city administrator, police and fire commanders and members of the investigation team then plan to hold a virtual press conference on Tuesday morning.
What happened that night?
The investigative report released Monday noted that an officer must have “reasonable” suspicion of criminal activity to stop. The decision to stop McClain “did not appear to be supported” by any official’s reasonable suspicion that McClain was involved in criminal activity.
Subsequently, the three officers decided to search McClain for weapons, which is legally allowed only if there is a belief that security is at risk, the report said. The panel was unable to find sufficient evidence that he was armed and dangerous to warrant a body search.
“The panel also notes that an officer’s statement that Aurora officers are trained to ‘take action before it escalates’ does not meet the constitutional requirement of reasonable suspicion …” the report said.
The officers further held his arms and attempted to physically put him on the grass, which again can only be done legally if there is a probable cause that a crime occurred, the report said.
In camera footage of officers’ bodies, McClain tells the officers, “I am an introverted person, please respect the boundaries I speak.”
“Calm down,” says an officer at one point, “or I’ll have to change this situation.”
Before an officer wrestles him to the ground, McClain is heard telling the officers that he was trying to stop his music so he could listen to them.
At one point, one officer says to another, “He just got your gun, dude.” An officer tells McClain that he will “take my dog out and he will bite you” if McClain continues to “mess around”. Video shows an officer grappling McClain to the ground.
While on the ground, an officer attempted to apply a carotid artery, which restricts blood flow to the brain, on McClain indefinitely, the report said. The hold is not clearly captured in the images.
“The report therefore provides no evidence of the officers’ perception of a threat that would justify (the officer) carotid hold, causing Mr. McClain to lose consciousness either partially or completely,” the panel writes.
The report also notes the stark contrast between officers’ comments about McClain’s strength and the audio and video of the incident.
“The statements of the officers on the ground and in subsequent recorded interviews suggest a violent and brutal struggle,” the report said. “The limited video, and the audio from the body-worn cameras, reveal that Mr. McClain is surrounded by agents, all taller than him, who are crying out in pain, apologizing, explaining himself and begging the agents.”
The Aurora Fire lieutenant advised paramedics to take a dose of ketamine based on an estimate McClain weighed about 190 pounds, the report said. He actually weighed 140 pounds.
McClain was taken to a hospital but suffered a heart attack along the way and was declared brain dead three days later, the letter said.
“Significant weaknesses” in police accountability
Finally, the report was critical of the police investigation into those present. The detective’s interviews did not pose fundamental critical questions about the justification for the use of force, and the incident was never referred to Home Office investigators.
“The investigation by the Major Crime / Homicide Unit of the Aurora Police Department into the death of Mr. McClain raised serious concern among the panel and revealed significant weaknesses in the department’s accountability systems,” the report said.
The autopsy conducted by the county coroner did not determine the cause of death, but noted that “intense physical exertion and a narrow left coronary artery” were contributing factors.
The autopsy report mentioned McClain’s history of asthma and the carotid artery, although the autopsy did not determine whether this contributed to McClain’s death. The concentration of ketamine in his system was at a “therapeutic level,” the report said.
The McClain family lawyer, Mari Newman, has called the autopsy “very strange.” She has said it “ignores the most obvious factor, which is a perfectly healthy young man who walks home from the drugstore with a bottle of iced tea in a bag and ends up dead.”
CNN’s Dakin Andone, Artemis Moshtaghian and Leslie Perrot contributed to this report.