At least two million people have signed a petition calling for law enforcement officials in Aurora, Colorado to reopen an investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old who died in August 2019 after police officers stopped him, according to USA Today.
McClain, whose name has not been previously included in the long list of Black fatality victims at the hands of racial injustice, was reportedly walking home from a convenience store on August 24, when police responded to a call of a “suspicious man” with a ski mask.
“Whatever the report says, it’s clear that if the police had not attacked Elijah McClain, he would be alive today,” Mari Newman, an attorney for his family, told TheCut.com.
After a February 2020 police force review board inquiry, it was determined that officers had a lawful reason to engage McClain and that use of force "was within policy and consistent with training," the Colorado Sentinel reported.
Aurora City Manager Jim Twombly, who oversees city operations, said that an independent investigation of McClain’s death would be undertaken.
