Thousands gather in Colorado to protest Elijah’s McClain’s death

Thousands of people filled Aurora’s municipal center and shut down an Interstate, marching and chanting, crying and screaming for justice for Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old who died after an encounter with officers last August.

The passionate response culminated a week in which Gov. Jared Polis ordered the state attorney general to investigate the case.

Both directions of the Interstate 225 highway were shut down around 3 p.m, according to a tweet from Aurora police. The initial highway closure was between 6th and Mississippi avenues, CDOT said.

Prior to the march, the afternoon rally splintered into multiple groups, with Denver school board member Tay Anderson offering a mea culpa for splitting the crowd and causing confusion.

Sheneen McClain, McClain’s mother, Denver School Board member Tay Anderson and Colorado State Representative Leslie Herod all spoke on the steps of City Hall, with the crowd seated, listening intently and responding when prompted.

Naomi McClain, Elijah’s sister, stood under a tree listening to speakers. She said it was good to see so many people out to remember Elijah. “I’m here for my brother. He was special. He was gentle. He walked away from arguments,” she said. Her hope is that those responsible for his death are arrested.

Another, more agitated crowd gathered in front of the police headquarters, chanting and yelling at officers. At one point the officers donned riot gear and moved closer to the barricades, prompting protesters to scream epithets and ask why the escalation.

Yasmeen Hernandez, 27, said it was “pretty alarming” to see cops don riot gear. She added that it was disappointing to see two separate rallies chanting over each other. McClain’s family member tried to say a poem but it was drowned out by the other nearby group.

Anderson apologized on Twitter, saying when he arrived at the march, he noticed “Black women were frustrated that non-Black folks were leading chants and speaking.”

“I acknowledge my mistake in not going to the source and trying to help be a mediator, instead, with the permission of Black women organizers, members of Elijah McClain and Michael Marshall’s families, I led a divide between groups,” he tweeted. “I stepped out of my lane.” Marshall was killed by Denver sheriff’s deputies at the jail in 2015.

Just before 4 p.m. Aurora police tweeted that there had been no reported injuries or arrests and thanked the demonstrators for remaining peaceful.

Chants of “Say his name, Elijah McClain” and “No justice, no peace, no racist police,” emanated from the crowd throughout the day. Organizers sold T-shirts with “Black Lives Matter and “I Can’t Breathe” emblazoned on the front.

“The only way anything will happen for Elijah and his family is if we stay out here!” one unidentified speaker told a cheering crowd during the rally.

Franklin Williams, 25, said he came out to show support and make sure the issue of police brutality remains on people’s minds. He lamented that after Trayvon Martin and other Black deaths, the energy eventually faded.

“This shouldn’t be a moment,” the Aurora resident said. “This should be a movement.”

Before the protest began, Aurora police issued a statement in support of peaceful protest and warned of “outsiders” whose goal, police say, is to be destructive. All government buildings boarded up before the gathering, and police sat atop the library and City Hall observing the protest.

The day of demonstrations, organized by the Denver chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, began with a 1 p.m. rally and march. A 4 p.m. youth-led protest at the Municipal Center and an 8:30 p.m. violin vigil at Aurora City Center Park were to follow.

McClain’s death prompted a handful of small protests over the past 10 months but he has recently become known across the country in the wake of massive protests following the death of George Floyd.

The renewed attention and relentless activism prompted Gov. Jared Polis this week to appoint Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser as a special prosecutor to investigate McClain’s death, and, potentially, file charges.

Dave Young, the 17th Judicial District Attorney, declined to bring charges against the three officers involved in McClain’s encounter, which was prompted by a call for a suspicious person. Young defended his decision this week, saying, “Ultimately, while I may share the vast public opinion that Elijah McClain’s death could have been avoided, it is not my role to file criminal charges based on opinion, but, rather, on the evidence revealed from the investigation and applicable Colorado law.”

Police said McClain refused to stop walking when they asked him to. Body cam footage showed an officer got close to McClain, touched him and told him to “stop tensing up.” McClain replied: “I am going home. … Leave me alone,” and “Let me go. No, let me go. I am an introvert. Please respect my boundaries that I am speaking.”

After a struggle, McClain was handcuffed. Aurora Fire Rescue later injected him with ketamine in an attempt to sedate him, police said. He suffered cardiac arrest during the ambulance ride to a nearby hospital.

The three officers — Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema — were taken off street duty this month for their own safety, an Aurora spokesperson confirmed.

As celebrities have tweeted their outrage about her son’s death and national media outlets report on his story, Sheneen McClain wonders what took so long.

Protest organizers accused the department of trying to intimidate protesters in the lead up to the event

“The Aurora Police Department has responded by circulating rumors of a ‘violent threat’ in order to intimidate organizers and attendees and to justify mobilizing a militarized police response to crack down on protesters,” the Party for Socialism and Liberation said in a statement posted to Facebook. “APD has zeroed in particularly on the student protest leaders; perhaps the cops believe that, because of their youth, these organizers can be most easily intimidated. APD tracked down the identities of the student organizers, found their parents’ phone numbers, and called them to insinuate that they would be personally liable if injury or damage is caused at the protests.”

Faith Goodrich, an Aurora police spokeswoman, said in an email that police “reached out to one student protestor and voiced concerns that the protest scheduled before theirs may become unfriendly and spill over into their event. APD did not communicate to them that they would be held liable for damage or injuries.”