The family of a Colorado man who died after police and paramedics injected him with ketamine during a wrongful arrest has agreed to a $15 million settlement - one of the largest payouts by any city in the nation.
Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old black man, went into cardiac arrest following his run-in with police in Aurora on August 24, 2019, and died in a hospital six days later.
Sheneen McClain, who filed the lawsuit in August 2020, claimed that the city, three police officers, two paramedics and the medical director of the Aurora Fire Rescue violated her son's civil rights by using 'brutal force' and then sedating him with ketamine.
A court hearing is scheduled for tomorrow on how the settlement will be split between his mother and father, Lawayne Mosley.
The McClain family's $15 million settlement against a city or police department is now among the largest ever of its kind in the country, surpassing a $12 million wrongful death payout to the family of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police in Kentucky during a botched drug raid.
The family of George Floyd received a $27 million settlement from the City of Minneapolis after Floyd was killed by now-convicted cop Derek Chauvin.
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For 2010 to 2019, the city of Aurora had settled for a total of $7.4 million, making the family's settlement for death of Elijah McClain, pictured, double that of the last nine years combined
The McClain's $15 million settlement against a city surpasses that of a $12 million wrongful death lawsuit for Breonna Taylor, right, who was killed by police during a botched drug raid
Pictured: settlement paperwork the McClain family filed in August of last year against the city of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department
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Pictured: part of the settlement the McClain family filed against the city of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department
The exact settlement amount was confirmed to CBS Denver by three sources familiar with the tentative agreement.
If accurate, the $15 million payout will double the total amount the city has paid in wrongful death lawsuits from 2010 to 2019, when it shelled out $7.4 million.
Ryan Luby, deputy director of communications for the City of Aurora, had confirmed the city and family reached an agreement in the lawsuit on October 18, but had declined to reveal the terms of the settlement.
'The City of Aurora and the family of Elijah McClain reached a settlement agreement in principle over the summer to resolve the lawsuit filed after his tragic death in August 2019,' Luby said in a statement to 9News last month.
'City leaders are prepared to sign the agreement as soon as the family members complete a separate but related allocation process to which the city is not a party,' he continued. 'Until those issues are resolved and the agreement is in its final form, the parties cannot disclose the settlement terms.
Qusair Mohamedbhai, an attorney for Shaneen McClain, had also confirmed that a settlement has been reached 'resolving all claims raised in her federal civil rights lawsuit.'
He said the court will determine how much of the $15 million settlement will be distributed to Shaneen and Mosley, McClain's father.
Elijah McClain left, and right in hospital after he was fatally-injured while being arrested in Aurora, Colorado, in August 2019. He died six days later of his injuries
One year after his death, his mother, Shaneen McClain, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Aurora. A settlement has now been reached in that suit
Elijah was walking home from a corner store with an iced tea in his hand on August 24, 2019, when he was stopped by police officers responding to a 911 call about a man in a ski mask who was waving his arms in the air.
McClain's family said he wore the ski mask because anemia made him unusually susceptible to the cold, and McClain was apparently listening to music on headphones and dancing as he walked - also the reason, he explained to cops, that he did not initially comply with their verbal commands.
When the paramedics arrived, they reportedly injected McClain with ketamine, a hallucinogenic anesthetic, and seven minutes later he went into cardiac arrest.
He died at the hospital six days later.
A subsequent internal investigation by Aurora Police found that the cops had no reasonable grounds to stop him, and last month, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges against Police Officers Nathan Woodyard, Randy Roedema and former cop Jason Rosenblatt.
Weiser filed the same charges against paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec in a 32-count indictment.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser talks about a grand jury investigation into the death of Elijah McClain during a news conference last month
The indictment was unsealed almost two years after the August 2019 death. Weiser was appointed a special prosecutor by Colorado Governor Jared Polis after immense public pressure, and convened a grand jury in January.
McClain's death gained widespread attention during last year´s protests against racial injustice and police brutality following the killing of Floyd in Minneapolis.
McClain's pleading words that were captured on police body camera video - 'I'm just different' - have been posted on signs at protests and spoken by celebrities who have joined those calling for the prosecution of the officers who confronted McClain as he walked down the street in the city of Aurora after a 911 caller reported he looked suspicious.
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