A Black man who died after a police encounter in 2019 died because he was injected with a powerful sedative after being forcibly restrained.
Despite the finding, the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, was still listed as undetermined, not a homicide, the report shows. McClain was put in a neck hold and injected with ketamine after being stopped by police in Aurora for “being suspicious.” He was unarmed.From our newsroom to your inbox at noon, the latest headlines, stories, opinion and photos from the Toronto Sun.
In the updated report, Cina concluded that the ketamine dosage given to McClain, which was higher than recommended for someone his size, “was too much for this individual and it resulted in an overdose. even though his blood ketamine level was consistent with a ‘therapeutic’ blood concentration.”Article content
Cina acknowledged that other reasonable pathologists with different experience and training may have labeled such a death, while in police custody, as a homicide or accident, but that he believes the appropriate classification is undetermined.Advertisement 5The updated autopsy was released Friday under a court order in a lawsuit brought by Colorado Public Radio, joined by other media organizations including The Associated Press.