AURORA, CO – On Saturday night in Aurora, authorities said that demonstrators pushed down a fence, threw fireworks and other harmful objects at police officers, broke windows at the courthouse, and started a fire inside the courthouse.
According to CBS4, the protests were part of an effort to seek justice for Elijah McClain, who died last year after an altercation with Aurora Police. By 8:45 p.m., the Aurora Police Department had declared the protest an unlawful protest.
In a tweet, the Aurora Police Department said:
“Protesters are now throwing objects, shining lasers, and shooting large fireworks at officers. Everyone needs to leave the area immediately. If you remain, you are subject to arrest.”
According to the police, protesters tore down wood covering windows and used the wood as shields so they could continue to violently protest. They broke windows to get inside the courthouse and started at least one fire.
While the majority of the protestors were peaceful, a group decided to hijack the message tonight & cause major damage to the courthouse & courtyard.
We are still seeking witnesses w/ info regarding the shooting on I-225. You can contact @CrimeStoppersCO. pic.twitter.com/E5zFJp6HS8
— Aurora Police Dept. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@AuroraPD) July 26, 2020
More than 2o windows at the courthouse were broken. The fire that was set was extinguished by 9 p.m. and it did not appear to spread anywhere else inside of the building. Again, the police made announcements telling protesters to leave the area.
According to authorities, most of the protesters who vandalized the courthouse were wearing masks and one of the security cameras was covered with a plastic bag, making it difficult to identify the people involved.
About an hour later, just before 10 p.m., protesters moved away from the Aurora Municipal Center and blocked the Alameda Parkway. Earlier in the evening, according to Sentinel Colorado, multiple people were injured after shots rang out and in unidentified driver plowed through a crowd of demonstrators.
The shooting occurred after a Jeep, which police later impounded, drove through hundreds of protesters walking down Interstate 225. According to police, at about 7 p.m. the blue Jeep surged into hundreds of protesters in the northbound lanes of I-225.
A witness to the mayhem, one of the protesters, Natalie Lebesma, said that a driver in a white truck pulled quickly in front of the Jeep, ramming it and keeping it from plowing into more people. Allegedly, a protester pulled out a gun and appeared to be aiming it at the Jeep, but instead shot another protester in the leg.
Police confirmed that one person was shot in the leg and another later drove themselves to a local hospital with a graze wound after a person fired multiple shots into a crowd. The Aurora Police are investigating the shooting allegation.
Someone else showed up to the hospital with a graze wound.
The vehicle was towed and we are investigating that incident.
Any witnesses to the shooting are urged to call @CrimeStoppersCO. pic.twitter.com/Mxm6LyXtu0
— Aurora Police Dept. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@AuroraPD) July 26, 2020
Police contacted the driver of the Jeep shortly after the incident. The Jeep has since been impounded, but the driver has not been arrested. Both injured individuals from the gunshot wounds remain in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries in stable condition.
According to ABC7, police have released photos describing the person of interest in the shooting during the protest on I-225. The photos were provided to the police by a witness. Anyone with any information, photo, or video evidence is asked to contact the Aurora Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP.
UPDATE: DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS MALE?
This male is a person of interest that shot 2 people yesterday on I-225.
Please reach out to @CrimeStoppersCO with tips. You can remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000. https://t.co/hSD2ac6gCp pic.twitter.com/iviXgdfCR9
— Aurora Police Dept. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@AuroraPD) July 27, 2020
According to Fox 31, the Aurora Police Department has officially launched an investigation into the driver of the Jeep that rammed into the crowd of protestors on I-225. Police said that after driving through the crowd of protesters, the driver of the Jeep pulled off at East 6th Avenue and Billings Street.
He sought out and located officers that were investigating a separate, unrelated crash at that location. He was questioned by the officers and the Jeep was impounded for evidentiary purposes. According to reports from authorities, the preliminary investigation indicates that the driver was scared and drove through the crowd after protesters surrounded his vehicle.
The driver claims that the protesters were striking his car and yelling at him.
Aurora’s Interim Chief of Police, Vanessa Wilson said in a statement:
“I not only find great concern with someone making the decision to drive their vehicle toward protesters on the interstate, but that someone in the protester group opened fire, recklessly shooting two people.”
Chief Wilson said that they will be working with the District Attorney to discuss the appropriate charges to bring against the driver as well as working tirelessly to identify the shooter(s) on the interstate.
Here’s our previous report on Elijah McClain.
Last year, officers were cleared in the death of a suspect. Everything was done legally.
But now all of a sudden those same officers are apparently back under investigation for the incident they were cleared in. And we’re told by sources inside of the department that the officers and department are facing threats as a result.
Local media has confirmed that the three Colorado police officers involved in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain have been reassigned to what are being referred to as “nonenforcement” duties.
Officers Nathan Woodyard and Jason Rosenblatt were reassigned on June 13, and one week later, officer Randy Roedema received his reassignment as well.
According to KDVR, the new duties involve deskwork,
Faith Goodrich is the spokeswoman for the Aurora Police Department.
She told 9News that the primary reason for the move stems from the complaints they’ve received. “This was done in an effort to protect those officers,” she said.
On August 24, 2019, Aurora Police Officers were dispatched regarding a male wearing a mask and waving his arms. As officers arrived, they attempted to make contact with the male, later identified as Elijah McClain, who refused to stop and talk to officers.
Under these circumstances, officers are required to make contact with the person to determine if there is, was, or was about to be a crime committed. In addition, to ascertain the mental wellbeing of the person to ensure that they were not suffering from a mental or intoxication issue in which they required immediate help.
Since, that is what police are required to do, a person simply cannot keep walking away and the officer cannot allow them to do so. If the officer, in circumstances such as this, allow the person to walk away and they walk into traffic, suffer a medical issue and die, the officers can be held liable.
Since that appears to be the situation here, officers attempted to physically detain McClain to determine what was occurring.
Colorado Gov. Polis appoints state attorney general to investigate death of Elijah McClain in 2019.
“We owe it to the people of Colorado, as well as his mother … to ensure that those responsible for his death are held accountable in a court of law.”https://t.co/wd7KWjScOA
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 27, 2020
McClain immediately resisted the officers efforts, which forced them to take him down to the ground in order to achieve physical control of him.
Once on the ground, McClain continued to physically resist officers and used a trained maneuver in order get him under control. The move used, according to the Denver Post, was a “carotid control hold,” a move trained in police academies throughout the United States at the time.
The hold, which has been referred to as a “sleeper hold,” is where the officer utilizes the crease in his/her elbow and places that around the Adams apple while the forearm produces pressure on the veins in the neck, causing the subject to lose energy while fighting, if used properly.
Despite the hold, McClain was still physically fighting with officers, which is clearly visible on the body cameras of the officers, at the time paramedics arrived on scene. Paramedics provided a sedative to McClain which calmed him enough to transport him to the hospital from the scene.
Once in the ambulance, McClain experienced cardiac arrest and was rushed to the emergency room. Unfortunately, McClain never recovered, and he died three days later.
An autopsy was conducted on McClain which was not able to determine a cause of death. Since there was no finding on the cause of death, no charges were sought against anyone in this case.
In addition, a thorough review was done of all persons at the seen and body camera footage from the officers by Dave Young, the District Attorney for the 17th district who was in charge of the investigation.
Young wrote in a statement:
“Specifically, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy stated that he was unable to conclude that the actions of any law enforcement officer caused Mr. McClain’s death. In order to prove any form of homicide in the state of Colorado it is mandatory that the prosecution prove that the accused caused the death of the victim.
“For those reasons, it is my opinion that the evidence does not support the filing of homicide.”
Young also determined that there did not appear to be any evidence to support the belief that the officer’s actions in this incident were unlawful. As such, the officers were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the tragic death.
However, after the murder of George Floyd, Colorado Governor Polis said that he believes this case needs to be examined, again, by the state legal team.
Some suggested that this cannot be done because of double jeopardy. However, officers were never tried and acquitted on this case, so, double jeopardy does not apply. A review, although suspicious in nature, is actually legal.
Governor Polis stated:
“As a father, my heart breaks for the McClain family. All Coloradans should be safe walking home from the convenience store, or just being in their own neighborhoods listening to headphones. Unfortunately, I know that is not how many people – especially young people of color – feel in our state today, because I’ve heard it from them directly.”
Governor Polis seems to believe that a review by both the district attorney and the medical examiner were insufficient. Clearly, the police and the medical crew are both untrustworthy to Polis as well.
It’s obvious- to most, anyway- that some other medical condition caused the death of McClain. It doesn’t matter though. Polis believes that a better, “thorough review of the case” needs to be done.
From left-to-right, Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema were the three officers responsible for a̶r̶r̶e̶s̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ MURDERING #ElijahMcClain.
I want all three indicted for manslaughter, convicted, and sentenced to the maximum.
Anything less, and it’ll be hell… pic.twitter.com/yTsyouXIrK
— Make Out Hill (@Fragment_Jack) June 27, 2020
As such, State Attorney General Phil Weiser has been tasked with conducting another investigation into this death.
It is yet to be determined what Weiser’s investigation will show once it is completed. However, what is for sure is those officers’ lives were changed forever on that night in 2019 when they met McClain.
It was McClain’s actions that forced the officers to physically detain him. It was McClain’s decisions to continue fighting officers to the point of having to be medically sedated by emergency medical personnel.
While I am certain that they were relieved when the state cleared them in this death, I also wholeheartedly believe that those officers will they ever, completely be the same after it.
And now, they face being criminally charged in a case in which they were already cleared.
That sure sends a strong message to the officers and the community.
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