Elijah McClain Vigil Allegedly Targeted By Police Brutality

Following police brutality at an Elijah McClain violin vigil held last month, attorneys have filed yet another lawsuit against Colorado police.

When a violin vigil was held in honor of deceased Elijah McClain in late June, Aurora police officers allegedly victimized protesters in an ironic show of police brutality – the very actions which advocates assembled to protest. In recent legal news, the same attorneys representing McClain’s family have filed a class action lawsuit against the Aurora Police Department and other entities for the treatment of protesters.

“Aurora’s deployment of riot police, who indiscriminately unleashed chemical agents, projectiles, and batons on peaceful protesters celebrating Elijah’s life and calling for justice at a violin vigil, is part and parcel of the same brutality, racism, and disregard for the Constitution that caused them to murder Elijah,” plaintiff attorneys said in a statement, according to The Denver Post.

Who Was Elijah McClain?

23-year-old Elijah McClain was a Black man killed last August in Aurora, Colorado. The young man was reportedly walking home from the convenience store when he was confronted by police officers. Although he had not committed any crime, the Aurora Police Department later said that someone had called 911 about a suspicious person in a ski mask and that McClain “resisted arrest” when confronted.

Unfortunately, McClain did not make it out of the altercation alive. He was reportedly tackled to the ground and put in a carotid hold – a choke hold that restricts blood flow the brain to render the victim unconscious. When medical responders arrived 15 minutes later, McClain was allegedly injected with ketamine – a powerful sedative. On the way to the hospital, Elijah McClain reportedly went into cardiac arrest. Days later, he died.

In the wake of McClain’s death, people around the state and country were outraged, although the police officers responsible were not fired. They were placed on administrative leave but were later reinstated after an inconclusive autopsy and the decision by the district attorney to not file criminal charges.

Earlier this summer, after the death of George Floyd sparked protests around the country, McClain’s death was one of many older police brutality cases that gained new attention.

People have been drawn to McClain’s story in part by his kind nature. Elijah McClain was a massage therapist who loved animals and played the guitar and violin after teaching himself. In particular, a picture of McClain playing violin for stray cats has gone viral.

Police Brutality at McClain’s Violin Vigil

To honor Elijah McClain’s life and mourn his death, a violin vigil was held on June 27 after being organized by community leaders. Violinists from around the country reportedly flew in to Aurora to “participate in this peaceful celebration of the life of a young man so full love and empathy that he played violin to calm frightened and caged animals as they waited to be adopted,” the police brutality class action lawsuit notes.

Unfortunately, the peaceful gathering was allegedly interrupted by Aurora police officers. Despite the peaceful nature of the vigil and permission obtained from the city, Aurora police officers allegedly declared the vigil to be “unlawful.”

Following this determination, police officers clad in full riot gear allegedly marched towards the vigil “in a totally unjustified show of intimidation.” The police brutality included the use of batons, less-lethal ammunition like rubber bullets, chemical agents, and other shows of excessive force, the vigil attendees claim in their recent class action lawsuit.

“Against the backdrop of the violinists’ beautiful and haunting soundtrack, these officers under APD direction bullied and indiscriminately deployed chemical agents on the men, women, and children who had gathered to peacefully remember Elijah,” the Elijah McClain class action lawsuit claims. “They terrorized an already reeling and grieving community.”

Interim Police Chief Vanessa Wilson, one of the defendants named in the police brutality class action lawsuit, defended the police officer’s actions last month following the violin vigil. According to Wilson, the police behaved lawfully.

“There were many, many people there who were doing the right thing and protesting peacefully, but there were a faction of agitators that came with pipes and sticks and helmets and gas masks and face shields,” Wilson said in a statement last month to Fox31.

Despite Wilson’s assurances, the Elijah McClain class action lawsuit rejects these arguments – calling Wilson’s statements a “standard cover-up” for the Aurora police department. Instead of owning to the actions of her police officers, the plaintiffs argue that Wilson presented a “sterile” PowerPoint regarding the issue. Although the presentation aimed to defend the actions of the Aurora police officers, the police brutality class action lawsuit argues that Wilson only served to “reinforced how grossly abusive Aurora’s actions were at the vigil.”

What are your thoughts on these and other allegations of police brutality? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Mari Newman and Andy McNulty of Killmer Lane & Newman LLP.

The Elijah McClain Police Brutality Class Action Lawsuit is Lindsay Minter, et al. v. City of Aurora, Colorado, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-02172-RM, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

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