Nationwide — Three police officers from Aurora, Colorado have been fired for reportedly taking photos of themselves as they mocked the death of 23-year old Elijah McClain, a Black man who died after police used a chokehold on him in August 2019.
According to reports, the police officers attended his memorial, took photos reenacting the chokehold that caused his death, and then circulated them to others within their police department.
The department’s interim police chief, Vanessa Wilson, said all the involved officers were “immediately placed on administrative leave with pay in non-enforcement capacities” after she was informed of the incident.
Wilson added that an investigation regarding the incident is ongoing and the results, including the photo evidence and officers’ names, will be publicly released once completed.
McClain’s family expressed their disappointment of the recent incident, saying it was a “new low” following what the police did that caused his death, they said in a statement.
The family’s statement continues: “This is a department where officers tackled an innocent young black man for no reason, inflicted outrageous force – including two carotid chokeholds – for fifteen minutes as he pled for his life, joked when he vomited, and threatened to sic a dog on him for not lying still enough as he was dying. They tampered with their body cameras to hide the evidence. They exonerated the killers. They deployed riot police and spewed pepper gas on peaceful protestors [sic] at a vigil of mourners playing the violin. And now this.”
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