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Trial Begins in Brighton, Colorado Over Death of Elijah McClain After Police Confrontation

Image courtesy of media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com

Key takeaways:

  • Prosecutors allege that two officers ignored Elijah McClain’s pleas of “I can’t breathe” as they put him in a neck hold and injected him with a powerful sedative.
  • The officers had approached McClain as he was walking home from a convenience store carrying only a plastic bag with three cans of iced tea and his phone.
  • McClain’s death has become a rallying cry for protests and spurred police reform, and the trial of the two officers is the first of several trials stemming from the incident.

A trial began Wednesday in Brighton, Colorado, over the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died in 2019 after a confrontation with two police officers. Prosecutors allege that the officers ignored McClain’s pleas of “I can’t breathe” as they put him in a neck hold and injected him with a powerful sedative.

In opening arguments, prosecutor Jonathan Bunge said that officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt ignored McClain’s pleas for help and told arriving paramedics that McClain had been resisting and had “crazy strength.” Bunge also said that body camera footage of the episode showed McClain saying “I can’t breathe” seven times as he lay handcuffed on the ground.

The officers had approached McClain as he was walking home from a convenience store carrying only a plastic bag with three cans of iced tea and his phone. The officers said they stopped him because he was acting suspiciously, but Bunge argued that McClain had done nothing wrong.

The defense argued that the officers had acted appropriately and had only used force when McClain resisted. They also said that the paramedics had given McClain a sedative “as he was drifting in and out of consciousness.”

McClain’s death has become a rallying cry for protests and spurred police reform. The trial of the two officers is the first of several trials stemming from the incident. The outcome of the trial is expected to be closely watched by the public.

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