Officers kept Elijah McClain in neck hold despite pleas of ‘I can’t breathe,’ prosecutors say

By COLLEEN SLEVIN
Associated Press

BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) — Prosecutors in Colorado say two Denver-area police officers ignored Elijah McClain’s pleas that he couldn’t breathe when they put the Black man in a neck hold. He was later injected with a powerful sedative and was pronounced dead three days after going into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital. The trial started Wednesday against the officers, and is the first of several stemming from the death of the 23-year-old McClain. An attorney for one of the officers said their actions were in line with police policies and training and no crime occurred. The 2019 confrontation became a rallying cry for nationwide protests and spurred police reform.