Elijah McClain
The Aurora Police Department in Colorado announced on Thursday that Jaron Jones, one of the officers involved in a reenactment of the fatal Elijah McClain incident, has resigned.
In response to inquiries by the press, Jaron Jones, hired October 31, 2016, tendered his resignation. Jones was one of the employees involved and depicted in the photograph investigation related to #ElijahMcClain. We will continue to update w/developments as we proceed.
— Aurora Police Dept. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@AuroraPD) July 2, 2020
It’s unclear what’s going to happen to the other officers implicated in the case.
@AuroraGov council rep @AlisonCoombs2 tells me “I would have probably done the same thing”(resign) as what occurred showed “a complete lack of empathy”
— Brian Maass (@Briancbs4) July 2, 2020
Police said Monday that they were investigating allegations of officers participating in certain photographs near where McClain died.
“All involved officers were immediately placed on administrative leave with pay in non-enforcement capacities,” Chief Vanessa Wilson said, according to CBS Denver. “I immediately ordered Internal Affairs to make this investigation their top priority. This accelerated investigation was completed this evening.”
McClain died last year after other Aurora police confronted him. Officers said they were responding to a call of a suspicious person. Cops used force during the incident, applying a carotid hold (which cuts off blood to the brain). Fire officials administered the sedative ketamine.
McClain ended up going into cardiac arrest and becoming brain dead. He was taken off of life support. Outrage was fueled by body cam footage showing McClain pleaded with officers, denying wrongdoing, and saying he couldn’t breathe.
But no charges were filed; District Attorney Dave Young of the 17th Judicial District said he couldn’t bring a case because a pathologist couldn’t determine if this was a homicide. The Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) recently appointed the Attorney General Phil Weiser as special prosecutor.
“Just when we thought the Aurora Police could not be any worse, they somehow find a new low,” McClain’s family said in a statement about the alleged reenactment photograph, according to CBS. “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.”
[Screengrab via Law&Crime Network]
