Autopsy finds U.S. Black man Elijah McClain died due to police sedative, neck hold

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

23-year-old was stopped by police in Aurora, Colo., in 2019 for 'being suspicious'
The Associated Press · Posted: Sep 23, 2022 5:44 PM ET | Last Updated: 27 minutes ago



Elijah McClain, an unarmed Black man who died days after he was subdued by three police officers and injected with a powerful sedative in August 2019, poses in an undated photograph in Aurora, Colo. (Family photo/Reuters)

A Black man died after a police encounter in a Denver suburb in 2019 because he was injected with a powerful sedative after being forcibly restrained, according to an amended autopsy report publicly released Friday.

Despite the finding, the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, was still listed as undetermined, not a homicide, the report shows. McClain was put in a neck hold and injected with ketamine after being stopped by police in Aurora for "being suspicious." He was unarmed.

The original autopsy report that was written soon after his death in August 2019 did not reach a conclusion about how he died or what type of death is was, such as if it was natural, accidental or a homicide. That was a major reason why prosecutors initially decided not to pursue charges.

. . .

In the updated report, Dr. Stephen Cina concluded that the ketamine dosage given to McClain, which was higher than recommended for someone his size, "was too much for this individual and it resulted in an overdose."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/elijah-mcclain-autopsy-1.6593956

[MichMan]

1. The link states it was administered by paramedics, not police

They called it a police sedative, but towards the end say it was paramedics that administrated it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. Cops aren't allowed to inject it; they make requests of EMTs.

[stopdiggin]

6. but if the dosage was wrong

(and one has to wonder just how far 'off' it was in this case) - seems pretty clear that misjudgement is not on the police.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. There is plenty of misjudgment to go around here.

[stopdiggin]

9. I agree.

This would appear to be a (very sad) case of a person that was in the throes of a mental break - and a LE team that insisted on being 'in charge.'

Which is, (again, unfortunately) - not all that uncommon.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. Elijah McClain was not having a "mental break."

[stopdiggin]

11. then I misunderstood

(for which I apologize) - but there is some justification for arriving at that conclusion ... Something appears to have been 'wrong' that night. Some of McClain's (reported) speech appears - disoriented? And it was the para-meds who adjudged "excited delirium" - some full 15 minutes after LE had detained and restrained. They could be lying outright (in cohesion with their LE pals) - but that's a lot of agitation.

https://www.nytimes.com/article/who-was-elijah-mcclain.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Elijah_McClain
https://www.thecut.com/2021/09/the-killing-of-elijah-mcclain-everything-we-know.html
https://www.cpr.org/2022/09/23/elijah-mcclain-death-by-ketamine-autopsy-report-changed/

[WhiskeyGrinder]

12. What is "wrong" is that someone called the cops when they saw a young Black man and decided he

"looked sketchy." McClain's speech was disoriented because he was a very gentle person who was deeply confused about why he was approached and then was given multiple contradictory orders, and manhandled when he didn't comply. "Excited delirium" doesn't exist. Before the cops and EMTs showed up, there wasn't an issue.

[stopdiggin]

14. excited delirium doesn't exist

but there is an approved drug and protocol for it's treatment? (i.e., para-meds are carrying it around on their truck, along with instructions on its use)

We can readily agree on your final statement, "Before the cops and EMTs showed up ..." We appear to see other aspects of this sad (and probably too common) event - in a different shadings.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. I'll rephrase:

Excited delirium -- generally understood as being combative and highly agitated -- certainly exists as a diagnosis in a medical setting. The problem is, it has an extremely broad definition and its use as a "diagnosis" by cops to require the administration of sedatives without clear medical reasons to do so has been widely abused. The AMA itself recently announced it opposes "excited delirium" as a diagnosis because of the deaths it's led to. Increasingly, states are rethinking ketamine waivers they've given to EMTs.

[stopdiggin]

16. THAT sounds pretty solid to me.

I was thinking in terms of (and have personally observed and encountered) those individuals on the street that are - employing my terminology - "whacked (or cranked) out of their ever lovin' minds." A danger to themselves and others.

And please note - I am not attempting to ascribe such a state to Mr. McClain. It seems there is every indication that he would have made it home quite safely that evening - were it not for the police.

[Stuart G]

2. Very Sad. I hope the people who did this are convicted of some crime for killing Elijah McClain

[burrowowl]

3. The police are also guilty by using forceful restraint and requesting the ketamine

[truthisfreedom]

4. But he was suspicious.

Suspicious while black.

[stopdiggin]

8. a little more from article

"I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine," said Cina, who also noted that body camera footage shows McClain becoming "extremely sedated" within a few minutes of being given the drug.

The findings of the amended autopsy report, updated in July 2021 but withheld from the public until Friday, echo an opinion included in the grand jury indictment handed down about two months later from an unspecified pathologist who concluded McClain died of complications of being injected with ketamine while being violently subdued and restrained by law enforcement and emergency responders. It is not clear whether that pathologist was Dr. Cina.

Cina's updated report said there was no evidence that injuries inflicted by police caused his death.

Three police officers and two paramedics have been charged (grand jury, manslaughter and reckless homicide) - and the city has agreed to a 15 million settlement with victim's family

[mahina]

13. Elijah Mc Clain's death broke my heart

And still does. I can’t believe we are still in this moment.

Peace to him and justice to his memory, for everyone.

[peacebuzzard]

17. amen. Elijah was a gentle soul who played music to cats at the animal shelters.

sad,

[fanfanois]

18. Murder

Let the murderer rot in jail.

[ck4829]

19. ...

Last edited Mon Oct 3, 2022, 09:38 AM - Edit history (1)

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