Three Aurora Police Department officers have been sacked in connection with staged photos of one officer holding another in what appears to be a carotid restraint. This move was used to subjugate Elijah McClain before he died. David Zalubowski / AP hide caption
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David Zalubowski / AP
Three Aurora Police Department officers have been sacked in connection with staged photos of one officer holding another in what appears to be a carotid restraint. This move was used to subjugate Elijah McClain before he died.
David Zalubowski / AP
Three former Aurora, Colorado police officers lost their job bids after they were fired in connection with photos recreating a chokehold near the spot where Elijah McClain was held by police.
The City Public Service Commission upheld the layoffs of officers Erica Marrero, Kyle Dittrich and Jason Rosenblatt. A fourth officer resigned before the others were kicked out of the division.
“I fully supported [Aurora Police] Chief Wilson’s dismissal of officers Dittrich, Marrero and Rosenblatt and the encouragement that the Civil Service Commission approved and upheld their decision, “Aurora city manager Jim Twombly said in a statement Tuesday local Fox subsidiary reported.
The photos that led to the officers’ dismissal were taken on October 20, 2019 near a memorial to McClain – a black man who died after being stopped by police on his way home from a supermarket last summer.
As The police confronted McClain They put a stranglehold on him and ignored him as he cried in pain and even vomited. He was then sedated with ketamine and later died. He was not suspected of any crime.
A picture captured by Dittrick shows him in a fake officer Jaron Jones carotid control handle. Marrero stands next to them. All three smile.
Rosenblatt does not appear in the photo, but after receiving a copy of the text, the officer replied, “haha.”
The photos came to light after an Aurora police officer reported them to the department’s internal affairs department.
At the time, Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson, who was behind the officers’ resignation, described her actions as “reprehensible” and added, “That’s why they no longer work here.”
On Tuesday, she said she appreciated the commission’s help in the move to keep all three out of the department.
“Aurora officers are expected to serve our community with dignity, respect and a sense of humanity,” Wilson said in one Explanation.
She added: “This supportive decision by the Commission on Civil Service enables us to take another step on our journey towards a new way of restoring trust in our community through transparency and accountability.”
