The autopsy report for Elijah McClain, the young black man that died after an encounter with the Colorado police and the paramedics in 2019, has finally been amended.
The Adams County Coroner’s Office released the on Friday to explain that McClain’s death resulted from complications of an overdose of ketamine, a sedative, administered following forcible restraint.
Elijah was stopped by three police offers after someone called 911 because he was wearing a ski mask and “acting kind of weird.”
After the police officers confronted Elijah, they put him in a chokehold. When he passed out, paramedics injected him with ketamine in order to sedate him. He died three days later in a hospital.
The amended report states there’s “no evidence” that injuries inflicted by police during his arrest contributed to his death. During the officers’ contact with McClain.
“Simply put, this dosage of ketamine was too much for this individual, and it resulted in an overdose,” Cina wrote. “I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine.”
In 2021 a state grand jury indicted three police officers — Randy Roedema, Nathan Woodyard, and Jason Rosenblatt — and two paramedics, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec.
They face 32 charges, including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
AP News and Buzzfeed News