Aurora, Colorado, US: At least two people were shot and injured on Saturday, July 25 by a fellow protester who tried to shoot at a vehicle that had barrelled through a crowd that had occupied an interstate freeway during a Black Lives Matter march in Aurora, Colorado, local media reported.
According to an NBC affiliate, hundreds of protesters had gathered on I-255 for a march to demand justice for Elijah McClain and to stand in solidarity with demonstrators who have, for days, faced off with federal law enforcement agents in Oregon when a blue jeep came barrelling down the highway heading straight for the crowd. Aerial footage showed protesters jumping out of the way as the driver sped through. Media reported that the driver did not hit anyone and the jeep was towed by police after the incident.
McClain, 23, was walking along a street in Aurora in August 2019 when he was approached by three officers on reports of a man acting suspiciously, although he had not committed any crimes.
The officers subdued McClain with the carotid chokehold. During the confrontation, McClain said he could not breathe, according to audio recordings released by police.
Paramedics later injected him with the sedative ketamine. McClain lapsed into a coma and died days later. A local prosecutor declined to file charges against the officers or paramedics, citing an autopsy that listed the cause of death as undetermined. Colorado Governor Jared Polis has appointed a special prosecutor to review the case, and this week the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice said they are investigating whether McClain's civil rights were violated.
McClain's death, which returned to prominence following the May 25 suffocation in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, has become a rallying cry in nationwide protests against police brutality and racial bias in the U.S. criminal justice system.
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