In the summer of 2019, a 23 year old man named Elijah McClain from Aurora, Colorado life was tragically cut short after a brief but violent encounter with the Aurora police and paramedics.

I never had the pleasure of knowing Elijah. But countless reports and accounts from friends, family, and co-workers paint a picture of a young man who was a gentle soul and marched to the beat of his own drum.

“He was the sweetest, purest person I have ever met,” another of his friends and former clients, Marna Arnett, added. “He was definitely a light in a whole lot of darkness.”

Elijah McClain was born in Denver, Colorado. He had five brothers and sisters. His family moved from Denver to Aurora to escape gang violence when Elijah was a boy. At a young age, his family realized he was intellectually gifted. He taught himself how to play the violin and guitar. Elijah would spend his free time volunteering at the local animal shelters in Aurora. He played music for the animals kept at the shelters. He believed that music calmed and soothed them. His passion and love for animals lead him to becoming a vegetarian

He also worked as a massage therapist. Accounts state he made quite an impact on co-workers and clients. Many of his clients became friends with him and thought Elijah brought joy to their lives. Even if some of his friends called him an oddball who never fit in anywhere, it seems Elijah was always true to himself.

On the night of August 24, 2019, Elijah was walking home from a gas station after getting some items for his younger brother. A 911 call reported a suspicion person wearing a mask walking around the neighborhood and waving their hands. The 911 report also stated that no one was in immediate danger.

Elijah wore a ski mask and dressed warmly throughout the year due to anemia, which kept him cold. Friends and family stated the ski mask was also a protective shield for Elijah when he ventured out in public. Elijah was a self-described introvert. Friends and family say that the night his arrest he was most likely listening to music and dancing with himself while he walked home.

Aurora police responded to the calls and stopped Elijah while he walked home. Elijah was tackled to the ground after the police alleged their calls for him to stop and he didn’t must indicated that he was ‘resisting arrest.’ Elijah was wearing headphones and most likely didn’t hear the officers calls. The Aurora police also claimed that Elijah had a gun and they feared for their lives. Subsequent independent investigations showed that Elijah had no weapon on his persons. Family and friends stated that Elijah wouldn’t even put out mousetraps if his home had a rodent problem, let alone carry a gun.

Officers claimed that Elijah was in a delirious state. They claimed it took three police officers to hold him down because he was so big and strong. The police called the paramedics who arrived on scene and injected Elijah with an extremely high dose of ketamine especially considering Elijah’s height and weight. He stood at about 5’6″ and weighed 140 pounds. Friends, family, and community activists believe that Elijah’s reactions were a result of him not being able to breathe and was him gasping for air. The arresting officers put Elijah in a chokehold, and put their knees in his back. Police body cams were shut off from most of this encounter, although audio of the incident remained intact.

Elijah was taken to the local hospital, while in transport the paramedic who administered the ketamine dose realized Elijah wasn’t breathing on his own due to suffering cardiac arrest. He was announced brain dead on August 27 and died just three days later on August 30. These are the final words of Elijah McClain which was capture by police audio the night of his arrest.

I can’t breathe. I have my ID right here. My name is Elijah McClain. That’s my house. I was just going home. I’m an introvert. I’m just different. That’s all. I’m so sorry. I have no gun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do any fighting. Why are you attacking me? I don’t even kill flies! I don’t eat meat! But I don’t judge people, I don’t judge people who do eat meat. Forgive me. All I was trying to do was become better. I will do it. I will do anything. Sacrifice my identity, I’ll do it. You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful and I love you. Try to forgive me. I’m a mood Gemini. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Ow, that really hurt! You are all very strong. Teamwork makes the dream work. [after vomiting] Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to do that. I just can’t breathe correctly.”

The arrest and death of Elijah McClain would have continued to go under the radar. Since initial police, and coroners reports found no wrong doing that resulted in his death and those reports claimed Elijah was given a therapeutic dose of ketamine.

In the summer of 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Renewed attention was drawn to Elijah’s arrest and death at the hands of local law enforcement and emergency medical officials. The case was reopened and an independent investigation in 2012 found that officials had The report concluded that

“Aurora police and paramedics made substantial errors at nearly every stage of their interaction with Elijah McClain and the detectives tasked with investigating the incident that led to the 23-year-old’s death stretched the truth to exonerate the officers involved.” The report said that the police had no legal basis to make McClain stop walking, to frisk him, or to use a chokehold, and the paramedics failed to properly evaluate him – or even to attempt to speak with him – before injecting him with ketamine. The report also said that the detectives assigned to investigate the incident failed to do a meaningful investigation after his death.”

McClain’s family subsequently filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Aurora, Colorado. A preliminary settlement agreement was announced on October 18, 2021. The agreement was finalized following a mediation hearing in U.S. District Court on November 19, 2021, with the City of Aurora agreeing to pay $15 million to McClain’s family.

In 2023, one of the officers charged in the death of Elijah was acquitted of all charges. As 2023 comes to a close, the two paramedics who arrived at the scene are now headed for trail. Elijah and his family would not have gotten justice if the 2020 Black Lives Matter protest never reached a fever pitch. This led to a renewed spotlight on the case and the City of Aurora covering up and lying about what happened that night. Multiple independent investigations and lawsuits got us to this point. And still one of the arresting officers got off.

None of these lawsuits, trials, or settlement money will bring back Elijah McClain. Sadly Elijah joins a countless list of black people who have been victims of police violence in this country. Elijah was a victim for white supremacy and the criminalization of all black people due to a history of anti-black racism. Elijah died because someone saw a black man walking down the street and immediately called the cops. The police, which policing in the United States has a history rooted in slave patrols, saw a black man and immediately treated said black man as a threat. The state lied to protect cops and paramedics who failed at their duty to serve and protect.

The police had no reason to stop Elijah. They saw a man walking down the street not disturbing the peace or any other person. They could have driven off and called in that only a guy was walking down the street. But in the United States of America black people can be murdered for just existing. Even Elijah last words show a young man who was compassionate and respectful even in the worst of circumstances. Elijah like countless other victims of police violence should be home this year celebrating the holidays with his family and playing the violin for the the doggies at the animal shelter. Who knows what other hopes and dreams Elijah had that will never be realized.

It doesn’t matter if a person has a criminal background or not. The police don’t have a right to murder people. However, if you’re a black person that isn’t famous or worth millions you’ll be treated like a common criminal in your encounters with the police. I’ve experience police brutality first hand in my hometown of Chicago. I’m lucky to be alive. Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ta’Kiya Young, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, and Elijah McClain were not as fortunate as I was sadly.

I write this because Elijah McClain could have been a family member or a friend. Hell, he could have been me. I have nieces and nephews the same age. As black people we learn from a young age that our encounters with police can be fatal and what steps we need to take to protect ourselves. The stress this causes can not be understated, to be hyper aware of your blackness at all times and knowing that police can become violent and outright deadly if you react in a manner they don’t like. I want to live in a world where that dark reality is no longer the norm. Many black people will share stories of how they tense up when a cop car begins to tail them or how they’ll call a family or friend if an officer pulls them over. Legalize modern day lynchings are what these needless deaths of black people at the hand of police should be called.

Unfortunately, there’ll be more Elijah McClain’s in this nation. Our cowardly political leaders turn a blind eye or at worse blindly support corrupt police departments that have countless complaints of harassment and brutality. Cities and states across the nation are okay with paying out millions of dollars to grieving families versus addressing the root cause of this problem. That root cause is the police and their ability to never follow the rules that outline the escalation of force. In fact, public officials continue to reward police departments by giving them police playgrounds like cop city, in Atlanta, GA. There are proposals across the nation create more of these ‘police training facilities.’

If those millions of dollars came out of police union and retirement funds accounts, maybe the police would think twice before treating every unarmed black person as a threat where they must use violent force first and ask questions later. Even if those cops are black or brown it still doesn’t mean that folks are safe, just look at the case of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. Elijah’s case is so tragic because he remained kind-hearted until his very end. I hope one day we live in a world where people aren’t murdered or violated because their skin isn’t the right color. Or they aren’t murdered because they fit the description. May Elijah McClain and the countless victims of police brutality rest in power.

BlackLivesMatter #BlackPower