(Reuters) – Colorado Governor Jared Polis on Thursday appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died after an encounter with police last year.
Aurora police stopped McClain on Aug. 24, 2019, after a caller told dispatch he was acting odd. During the encounter, police put McClain in a chokehold and paramedics gave him a sedative, according to local media. He died at a hospital days later.
“Elijah McClain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern,” Polis said in a statement.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler)
