Law enforcement in Colorado employed pepper spray and batons to break up a violin-live performance vigil for the 23-yr-aged black male who died all through a chokehold arrest by the exact same force — saying their have been “agitators” in the crowd.
Several videos exhibit people sitting down on grass and listening to close to a dozen violinists in an Aurora park Saturday as a line of officers march towards them.
“No no no no!” one female cried with expanding desperation in just one movie of Saturday’s confrontation considered more than 10 million situations by Monday.
“Aurora PD breaking up the peaceful violin vigil for the pretty child they murdered,” she wrote of 23-year-outdated Elijah McClain, who died during an Aurora law enforcement arrest past August.
Aurora law enforcement defended its techniques, insisting it gave a lot of warnings that it experienced grow to be an unlawful assembly for the reason that of “agitators” in the group.
“Pepper spray was employed soon after a little group of individuals gathered rocks/sticks, knocked around a fence, & overlooked orders to transfer again. Tear gas was not employed,” the drive explained following a backlash Sunday.
McClain’s loss of life has garnered renewed awareness amid a international outcry sparked by George Floyd’s death below the knee of a Minneapolis police officer past month.
Gov. Jared Polis final week appointed Lawyer Common Phil Weiser to probe the dying and appear at doable prosecutions.
The three officers included have also been put on modified obligations.
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