Colorado Health Agency Probe Ketamine Use In Elijah McClain's Death

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CPDHE) is looking to probe deeper on the use of ketamine in the death of Elijah McClain in August 2019.

The investigation came after the health agency received a number of new information regarding a “ketamine administration in August 2019.” While McClain's name may have not been "explicitly mentioned", it was the same month and year that the 23-year-old died was given the drug after he was arrested by Aurora Police, ABC News reported.

A CPDHE spokesperson said in a statement that they started receiving new information and complaints on June 24 of this year, said CBS News.

On August 24, 2019, police were called to investigate a 911 call after a person reported McClain to be “sketchy” because he was wearing a ski mask. The caller said the man, which was later identified as McClain, “might be a good person or a bad person,” according to the audio transcript of the 911 call.

The call also said no weapons were involved and that no one was in danger, said ABC News.

Officers who arrived at the scene stopped McClain, who was at the time walking home after buying iced tea from a corner store. Bodycam footage showed McClain walking on the sidewalk when three police officers approached him.

The arrest came after McClain continued to walk despite one officer telling him to stop multiple times. Bodycam footage further showed the officers putting their hands on McClain. They were able to bring McClain on the ground and placed him in a carotid control hold, a type of restraint that prevents blood flow from the carotid arteries to the brain.

McClain was then placed on handcuffs and at one point, threw up while he was on the ground, said ABC News in a separate article.

Aurora Fire Department paramedics were then called to the scene. The outlet added that it is “department policy” to call medical staff after the application of the carotid control hold. It was here that McClain was injected with what family attorney Mari Newman alleged was an “excessive dose” of ketamine, a medication mainly used for administering and maintaining anesthesia.

The Aurora Fire Department's protocol allowed them to administer the sedative for “rapid tranquilization in order to minimize time struggling.” While in the ambulance, McClain suffered cardiac arrest. Police claimed he regained consciousness and was treated at a local hospital, but McClain died several days later after he declared brain dead and taken off life support.

The Adams County coroner said McClain only had a “therapeutic level” of ketamine in his body – a stark contrast to the claims of Newman.

“The weaponization of any kind of medication used involuntarily against a person just trying to go home is very, very troubling and it absolutely needs to be addressed,” said Newman.

As for the CPDHE's decision to open a new investigation, Newman said they “should have looked into it long ago,” but was glad the agency is doing it now, CBS News reported.