DENVER (AP) — The lawyer for the family of Black man who died after being stopped by suburban Denver police last year because he was “being suspicious,” said Friday she and Elijah McClain’s relatives have been conducting their own investigation after an official inquiry cleared three white police officers
Mari Newman told The Associated Press she is suspicious of government investigations of cases of alleged police misconduct.
To subdue McClain, officers used a chokehold that cuts off blood to the brain — a tactic recently banned in several places in the wake of George Floyd’s death last month in Minneapolis.
The attorney general’s office declined to comment on Newman’s decision to pursue an independent investigation.
While the appointment of the attorney general isn’t “business as usual,” Newman said, it’s an acknowledgement of the special circumstances surrounding McClain’s death.
“A true, thorough, independent investigation should not be contingent on a case that garners the public outcry from three million signatures on a petition and international media attention,” Newman said, referring to a change.org petition online petition demanding justice for McClain.
