According to a newly released autopsy report, a 23-year old man, who died after an encounter with Colorado police, was injected by paramedics with too large a dose of the sedative ketamine.
Elijah McClain died in 2019 after police in Aurora, Colorado stopped him in response to a report that he was acting suspiciously.
The massage therapist, who was unarmed, was put in a chokehold and handcuffed and then given ketamine when paramedics arrived.
An initial autopsy by Dr. Stephen Cina, a forensic pathologist, said McClain’s cause of death was undetermined.
However, in the new report, Cina said, “We had insufficient information during the 2019 autopsy. Now with all the information gathered and an extensive autopsy being given to Mr. McClain, I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine.”
The report says that the ketamine dose was too high for someone of McClain’s weight. He went into cardiac arrest and died days later at a hospital.
Three police officers and two paramedics were criminally charged in McClain’s death in 2021.
McClain’s family last year reached a $15 million settlement in their lawsuit over the case.
