NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Mike Coffman, mayor of Aurora, Colorado where Elijah McClain, a Black man, died after police officers forcefully detained him in August 2019.
SIMON: A preliminary investigation found no wrongdoing either by the officers who used what's been called a carotid hold or paramedics who injected him with ketamine, they say to calm Elijah McClain.
COFFMAN: Well, it was to take - it was to put the issue at the front in terms of public policy.
But when the issue became more visible to the country, I think we reexamined that 'cause the decision was made by the city manager - we're a city manager form of government - and that there was a question about whether or not there was too much bias, quite frankly, towards law enforcement by the individual doing the independent investigation.
SIMON: Mayor Mike Coffman of Aurora, Colo., thanks so much for being with us.
