Thousands gathered June 27, 2020 at the Aurora Municipal Center, to protest and pay tribute to Elijah McClain, who died last year after an encounter with three officers from the Aurora Police Department. A march formed and took to I-225 before circling back to the AMC where the protest continued into the night. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Protesters flee I-225, after shots were fired at a vehicle that drove through a crowd of protesters marching on the interstate, July 25, 2020. The protesters were marching as a call for justice for the death of Elijah McClain. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Protesters weave through cars as they march north on southbound I-225, July 25, 2020, during a protest and march in a call for justice for the death of Elijah McClain. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Helen McDermott plays the viola with Strings of Justice during an event, Gathering in Gratitude presented by Motherhood, held to honor the memory of Elijah McClain, in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020. McClain died after being stopped by police last year in the suburb of Aurora. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP) 
A woman holds a bouquet of flowers while seated on the artificial turf of the football stadium at the Montbello Recreation Center during an event, Gathering in Gratitude presented by Motherhood, held to honor the memory of Elijah McClain, in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020. McClain died after being stopped by police last year in the suburb of Aurora. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP) 
Monique Brooks-Roberts plays “Some Day We Will All Be Free” during an event, Gathering in Gratitude presented by Motherhood, held to honor the memory of Elijah McClain, in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020. McClain died after being stopped by police last year in the suburb of Aurora. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP) 
Tukeone works on the lettering of an Elijah McClain Mural, Aug. 1, 2020, during the Colfax Canvas Mural Project. Tukeone and Love_Pulp created this piece. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Protestors gathered at the Aurora Police Department District 1 Substation on 17th Place and Wheeling Street July 3, 2020, protesting the death of Elijah McClain. The protestors say they will occupy the space surrounding the substation until their demand of the arrest of the officers involved in McClains death is met. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Candice Bailey looks out over a crowd of hundreds during a July 3, 2020 press conference following the release of photos of police officers mocking a carotid hold on the site of where Elijah McClain had his fateful encounter with APD. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Sheneen McClain, center, is consoled by Rep. Leslie Herrod June 27, 2020, at the Aurora Municipal Center.Thousands gathered to protest and pay tribute to Elijah McClain, who died last year after an encounter with three officers from the Aurora Police Department. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
A mural of Elijah McClain was painted by Thomas “Detour” Evans on June 8, 2020 in the River North Art District in north Denver. Evans tweeted that he hopes to paint one in Aurora soon. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Hundreds of protestors turned out to Aurora City Hall Saturday June 6, 2020, focusing on the death of Aurora blacks at the hands of local police. Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado 
Elijah McClain Photo courtesy of Sheneen McClain 
From left to right, the father of Elijah McClain, their lawyer, and Elijah’s mother. From a press conference and protest at Aurora city hall Oct. 1, 2019. PHOTO BY PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
AURORA | Seven months after it was announced, lawmakers and the public will hear the results of the city’s independent investigation into the death of Elijah McClain on Monday.
City council members will also pick from a slate of candidates vying for two spots on the city’s Civil Service Commission, a powerful board that has final say over the Chief of Police on cop hiring and firing matters.
The special meeting on McClain’s death will be held virtually at 5 p.m. on Feb. 22. The public can stream the meeting online at www.auroratv.org or by watching AuroraTV on Channel 8. The regular meeting, which includes the Civil Service Commission vote, starts at 6:30 p.m.
The report is expected to be released to the public sometime Monday morning, several hours before council members receive their briefing, according to a city spokesperson. A press conference with investigators as well as local police and fire officials is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
McClain died in Aug. 2019 after an encounter with Aurora police officers and Aurora Fire Rescue first responders, who subdued him with now-banned restraints, including a ketamine injection and a carotid chokehold. Amid a swelling protest movement for McClain and his family, council members announced in July the city would conduct an independent investigation.
Officials hired a team of outside consultants to scrutinize first responders’ conduct when they stopped McClain.
This probe, which is led by civil rights attorney Jonathan Smith, doesn’t bring the possibility of criminal charges against the first responders — a prominent demand from McClain’s family and activists — but other ongoing investigations do.
Smith and his team have focused on “a review of relevant policies, procedures and practices” on first responders’ ketamine use, use of force policies and internal reviews of incidents like McClain’s arrest and subsequent death. They’ve investigated whether police and first responders violated city policies during the encounter.
Aurora Fire Rescue personnel administered McClain an dose of 500 milligrams of ketamine. The drug is temporarily outlawed for law enforcement use in Aurora until Smith’s review is complete. His team’s findings could shape a permanent ban.
The review could also come with recommendations of police and fire department policy overhauls. The city’s Police Community Task Force is expected to release its own reform ideas in the coming weeks.
The city council would have to approve any of the reforms proposed by these two groups.
Smith’s inquiry is the first in a slew of investigations related to ketamine use, McClain’s death and Aurora police practices to conclude.
The Adams County District Attorney who originally examined the case, Dave Young, has repeatedly said he didn’t have the evidence to convince jurors that first responders had acted inappropriately beyond a reasonable doubt in the encounter with McClain.
The other investigations into McClain’s death include looks from the state Attorney General’s office and the Department of Justice. Read the full list of ongoing investigations here.
Seems like anytime I respond, the Aurora Sentinel throws out what my comments are. Don’t you realize that you are censoring any negative comments. Maybe you should write an article about what you don’t want us to write about. Stop asking for comments if you don’t really want anything but what your want to hear.
What did come out is the standard “training needs to be looked at, and lets not blame or look at the command staff” boilerplate report. It could have been written any time using all the similar past “investigations” any department is forced to have when they mess up and command covers up.