Daily US Times: Three US police officers in Denver, Colorado have been sacked after they shared photos re-enacting a chokehold used on a black American who later died.
The 23-year-old Elijah McClain died in August last year after being stopped by police.
A local police chief called the images “beyond comprehension”, while another officer resigned over the matter.
Mr McClain’s case attracted renewed focus amid the wake of the death of another unarmed African-American George Floyd, who died in police custody.
The officers who were fired were named as Kyle Dittrich, Jason Rosenblatt, and Erica Marrero. The fourth, Jaron Jones, resigned on Tuesday.
The acting police chief in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Vanessa Wilson, called the images a crime against humanity and decency. Suburb of Aurora is the place where the incident happened.
Ms Wilson said: “We are ashamed, we are sickened, and we are angry about what I have to share.”
“While the allegations of this internal affairs case are not criminal, they are a crime against humanity and decency. To even think about doing such a thing is beyond comprehension and it is reprehensible.”
One of the pictures shows former officers Jones and Dittrich imitating a neck hold, while Marrero smiles to their left.
Jason Rosenblatt was sent the photos by text and responded “ha ha”.
What happened to Elijah McClain?
On 24 August last year, Mr McClain was walking in Aurora when he was stopped by three police officers.
A district attorney report later revealed that there had been an emergency call about a “suspicious person” matching his description.
The attorney’s report said there was a struggle after Mr McClain resisted contact with the officers, who wanted to search him to see if he was armed. Mr McClain can be heard saying on body cam footage, “I’m an introvert, please respect my boundaries that I am speaking.”
One of the police officers then says “he is going for your gun”, and the officers wrestle him to the ground and put him in a chokehold.
Mr McClain lost consciousness, was released from the chokehold and began to struggle again, the report says.
Police officers on the scene called for assistance, with fire fighters and an ambulance responding. A medic injected Mr McClain with ketamine to sedate him. He was then put in “soft restraints” on a stretcher and put inside the ambulance.
The medic who had administered the drug then noticed that Mr McClain’s chest “was not rising on its own, and he did not have a pulse”.
Mr McClain was declared brain dead on 27 August.
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