Colorado Attorney General opens grand jury investigation into Elijah McClain’s death

DENVER (KRDO) -- Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser says he has opened a grand jury investigation into the death of Elijah McClain in August of 2019.

"The grand jury is an investigative tool that has the power to compel testimony from witnesses and require production of documents and other relevant information that would otherwise be unavailable," said Weiser in a statement.

McClain was a 23-year-old Black man from Denver. He died about a week after a struggle with Aurora police officers on August 24 of 2019. Someone had called to reported a suspicious person walking down the street wearing a mask and waving their arms.

The officers approached McClain in the 1900 block of Billings Street and placed their hands on him. McClain resisted the officers' contact and said he had a right to walk down the streets. The interaction quickly grew violent with one of the officers using a carotid pressure hold before handcuffing McClain.

McClain repeatedly vomited before paramedics arrived and injected him with ketamine for sedation. McClain went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital. His family took him off life support a week later when he was declared brain dead.

All of the officers involved were cleared of wrong-doing. Yet recent Black Lives Matter protests and outcry on social media has reignited call for a second investigation into McClain's death.

Last year, Governor Jared Polis announced on June 25 that Weiser would be the special prosecutor for a second investigation into the events leading up to McClain's death.

“Our investigation will be thorough, guided by the facts and law, and worthy of the public’s trust. In order to maintain the impartiality and integrity of the process, we have no further comment at this time," Weiser said on Friday after announcing a grand jury investigation.