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Colorado governor moves to reopen investigation into 2019 death of black man put in police chokehold

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The investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man put into a chokehold by police who stopped him on the …
The investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man put into a chokehold by police who stopped him on the street in suburban Denver last year because he was “being suspicious,” will be reopened, the Colorado governor announced on Thursday.
Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order directing state Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate and possibly prosecute the three white officers previously cleared in McClain’s death.
McClain’s name has become the most recent rallying cry during the national reckoning over systemic racism and police brutality following the deaths of George Floyd and others.
“Elijah McClain should be alive today, and we owe it to his family to take this step and elevate the pursuit of justice in his name to a statewide concern,” Polis said in a statement.
He said he had spoken with McClain’s mother and was moved by her description of her son as a “responsible and curious child… who could inspire the darkest soul.”
Police in Aurora responded to a call about a suspicious person wearing a ski mask and waving his arms as he walked down a street on Aug.24.
Police body-camera video shows an officer getting out of his car, approaching McClain and saying, “Stop right there. Stop. Stop…. I have a right to stop you because you’re being suspicious.

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