Stop the use of ketamine in arrests.

Happy Monday!

We're kicking off the week with an urgent call-to-action. Today, Sydney from the Justice for Elijah McClain advocacy group shares more about the dangers of ketamine, and how we can make a difference TODAY by contacting local officials. I urge you to take part. You can read more about Elijah McClain in a previous newsletter.

Thank you all for your contributions. To support our work, you can give one-time on our website, PayPal or Venmo (@nicoleacardoza), or subscribe for $5/mo on our Patreon.

Nicole

TAKE ACTION

Call or email to demand a temporary ban on the use of ketamine in Aurora, Colorado, is put in place until at least 30 days after Elijah McClain’s case is complete. A council meeting to discuss the ban will be held on September 14, 2020, at 7:30 p.m.
Sign and share the Justice for Elijah petition to hold the officers and paramedics accountable for his death.
If you have been injected with ketamine, or have used ketamine as an EMT or paramedic in partnership with law enforcement? Share your story in this survey.

GET EDUCATED

By Sydney Cobb (she/her)

Ketamine is commonly used as an anesthetic in hospitals and veterinary clinics. It is typically regarded as safe if the proper dosage is administered, but it can have severe and lethal side effects in certain situations. Ketamine blocks pain receptors in the brain, often leading to people either falling unconscious or entering a trancelike state (The Cut). Emergency medical workers often use ketamine in order to subdue suspects at the scene of an arrest if they appear to be “violently agitated” or uncooperative.

Paramedics and first responders often describe suspects as “violently agitated” in order to justify their unnecessary use of sedatives. Ketamine is meant to subdue someone who is actively resisting arrest, but paramedics and first responders have frequently misused it. There are many cases in which suspects have been rendered helpless, with their hands cuffed behind their backs, yet they are injected with ketamine for illegitimate reasons. In some cases, it is believed that police officers involve themselves in the decision of whether or not to administer ketamine at the scene of an arrest (The Denver Post).

For example, Joseph Baker, a former Minnesota paramedic, recently spoke out against the use of ketamine for law enforcement purposes. Baker filed a whistleblower lawsuit in which he claimed that police officers attempted to coerce him into administering ketamine during an arrest. In an interview, Baker stated that the man being arrested clearly had a mental health illness and was not resisting arrest enough to justify the use of a sedative. After refusing to comply with the officers’ wishes, Baker felt that he was practically being pushed out of his job. Throughout the lawsuit, Baker emphasized that the relationship between police officers and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) workers has allowed officers to feel comfortable using coercive tactics to encourage paramedics to administer ketamine (The Intercept).

Unfortunately, Elijah McClain’s entanglement with the Aurora Police Department is one of many arrests that ended in unwarranted sedation. Max Johnson, a diabetic Black man from Minneapolis, is yet another example of how the use of ketamine can have dangerous effects. On July 26, 2020, Johnson began having a seizure as a result of low blood sugar. Abby Wulfing, Johnson’s girlfriend, called 911 and informed the dispatcher that Johnson was seizing, prompting them to send Emergency Medical Service (EMS) workers to evaluate the situation. Wulfing says that the EMS responders seemed to believe that Johnson’s seizures were caused by illegal drugs, even after she had explained the actual cause.

After continuously questioning Max’s sobriety, they began to physically restrain him and call the police for backup. After 7 minutes of pleading with the EMS workers to administer glucagon to combat Johnson’s low blood sugar, they finally obliged. Following the glucagon, the workers injected Johnson with 500 milligrams of ketamine. Wulfing stated that there was no need to inject Johnson with ketamine because he was already in a calm, post-seizure state once the EMS workers arrived. The dosage of ketamine put Johnson in a hospital intensive care unit on a ventilator for two days. Wulfing believes that the treatment Johnson received from the EMS workers was heavily influenced by the fact that he is a Black man (Star Tribune).

Both McClain and Johnson were unnecessarily injected with ketamine and endured severe health complications as a result. A sedative was not necessary in either case, considering that both men were following police orders and remaining calm in highly stressful situations. While McClain and Johnson’s cases are entirely separate, the parallels between the two are not anomalous; they indicate a larger issue with the unwarranted use of ketamine injections.

For decades, law enforcement has labeled people of color as ‘aggressive’ and ‘uncooperative’ in order to justify their unnecessary use of force. While ketamine is not a form of physical force, it can have similar or worse effects on one’s well-being. McClain and Johnson are only two examples of how police officers and paramedics unjustifiably use sedatives that ultimately lead to severe health complications.

It is imperative that we hold police departments and EMS workers accountable for misusing ketamine as a tool of brutality on ALL people, but specifically people of color. We cannot allow officers to further perpetuate the notion that Black people are disobliging and aggressive with law enforcement.

Key Takeaways

The symbiotic relationship between police officers and paramedics can lead to officers feeling comfortable with coercing paramedics into administering ketamine, therefore putting more people at risk of experiencing the harmful side effects of the sedative.
While the use of ketamine for law enforcement purposes is not limited to people of color, it is yet another way that police are wrongly labeling them as “aggressive” and “agitated.”
The use of ketamine is usually not necessary or justified.

8/27/2020 | Help decriminalize drug possession.

8/26/2020 | Be an active bystander.

8/24/2020 | Demand justice for Jacob Blake.

8/12/2020 | Demand justice for Elijah McClain.

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Nicole Cardoza 8/12/20 Nicole Cardoza 8/12/20

Demand justice for Elijah McClain.

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Today is my 31st birthday, and I don't take a day of this short and precious life for granted. I am celebrating another year around the sun in a time of so much sorrow, knowing how deeply my community is hurting in the midst of these unprecedented times.

Today's newsletter is a reminder that this work is, quite simply, a matter of life vs. death. I can celebrate another birthday, but Elijah cannot – as so many other people we've lost to police brutality this year. It's our responsibility to use every breath we have for all those who have had their breath stolen away from them. Please take action for Elijah today. And thank you Saraya @justiceforelijahmcclain for collaborating with us on this piece.

As always, consider making a donation to this project. You can give on our website, PayPal, Venmo (@nicoleacardoza) or by subscribing for $5/mo on our Patreon. Thank you for everyone that makes this newsletter possible.

Nicole

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TAKE ACTION

Send a postcard through this Black woman-owned card company to Colorado officials demanding justice. #lettersforelijah

Call Colorado officials to demand justice – link includes phone numbers and a sample script.

Sign the petition calling for the district attorney Dave Young to resign.

View more ways to support through the @justiceforelijahmcclain website.

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza

Written in collaboration with activist Saraya Hamidi at @justiceforelijahmcclain. Follow them on Instagram for more ways to take action.

Yesterday, the family of Elijah McClain filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Aurora and the police officers and paramedics responsible for his death (AP News).

Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, was stopped by three officers on Aug. 24, 2019, who responded to a call about a suspicious person “wearing a ski mask” and “waving his arms.” The caller noted that “he looks sketchy. He might be a good person or a bad person” (NPR). Police arrived and put Elijah in a chokehold. Paramedics gave him 500 milligrams of ketamine to calm him down – despite the fact that Elijah was already handcuffed and on the ground. McClain suffered cardiac arrest and was later declared brain dead and taken off life support several days later. Elijah McClain had not committed any crime.

The lawsuit outlines how one officer jammed his knee into McClain’s arm “with the sole purpose of inflicting pain by forcefully separating Elijah’s bicep and triceps muscles.” It also outlines how two officers reported that all three of them simultaneously placed their body weight, estimated to be over 700 pounds, on McClain, who was 5’6” and weighed 140 pounds, after putting him in a chokehold. In a statement released by their attorney, the family stated that “we have filed this civil rights lawsuit to demand justice for Elijah McClain, to hold accountable the Aurora officials, police officers, and paramedics responsible for his murder, and to force the City of Aurora to change its longstanding pattern of brutal and racist policing” (AP News).

Elijah was known as "nothing but positive" by his cousin, "sweet” by his sister, and "an introvert who sought peace in his life" by his mother (Elle). He played violin at a local shelter to soothe the animals. Elijah was also anemic, and often wore layers of clothing and masks to stay warm (The Cut). Body camera footage, which wasn’t released until November, captures the entire encounter, including Elijah’s last words, copied and pasted below.

I can’t breathe. I have my ID right here. My name is Elijah McClain. That’s my house. I was just going home. I’m an introvert. I’m just different. That’s all. I’m so sorry. I have no gun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do any fighting. Why are you attacking me? I don’t even kill flies! I don’t eat meat! But I don’t judge people. I don’t judge people who do eat meat. Forgive me. All I was trying to do was become better. I will do it. I will do anything. Sacrifice my identity, I’ll do it. You all are phenomenal. You are beautiful and I love you. Try to forgive me. I’m a mood Gemini. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Ow, that really hurt. You are all very strong. Teamwork makes the dream work. Oh, I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to do that. I just can’t breathe correctly.

You can read a detailed overview of the case via The Cut and watch the body camera footage here.

With the swell of protests after the death of George Floyd, Elijah’s case captured national attention, and thousands of people have called for justice. The office of 17th Judicial District Attorney Dave Young, which cleared the officers involved in detaining McClain of any wrongdoing, received over 10,000 emails and 1,000 voicemails in the beginning of June alone (Colorado Sentinel). A Justice for Elijah McClain petition has received over 5 million signatures (Change.org). Violin vigils honoring his life and protests demanding justice have sprung up across the country and the world.

Even so, we’re a long way from justice. All officers were briefly placed on leave, but since reinstated. Two were fired after the fact because they posed for a selfie that reenacted the chokehold for “solidarity” (CBS News). An autopsy report by the Adams County coroner said that the cause of death was “undetermined,” and criminal charges would not be filed. At the end of June, Colorado state governor Jared Polis signed an executive order for state’s attorney general, Phil Weiser, to re-examine the case, but no charges have yet to be filed (NYTimes). And although the Aurora police department has issued new rules against excessive force, the city’s public safety policy committee demands more (Colorado Sentinel).

In his last words, Elijah said that he was “different,” and that point, paired with his chronic asthma, has caught particular attention in calls for accountability. A study from 2016 shows that nearly half the people killed by police had some sort of disability (NAMI). And Black people are more likely than white people to have chronic health conditions, more likely to struggle when accessing mental health care, and less likely to receive formal diagnoses for a range of disabilities (Time). Our law enforcement is often the first response for any issue, regardless of whether there’s violence or not. But they have minimal training on de-escalation tactics. A report from the Police Executive Research Forum found that police academies spend, on average, about 58 hours on firearm training and just 8 hours on de-escalation or crisis intervention (Police Forum). Proper de-escalation might have saved Elijah, but he isn’t alone; several police brutality victims, including Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, and Tanisha Anderson, all had disabilities or underlying health conditions (Huffington Post). And as Adiba Nelson, mother and disability rights and inclusion advocate, wrote for Parents Magazine, “if Elijah McClain was not safe in the hands of the police, how can my child be?” (Parents).

“I worry that as a teenager or young black man, if my son wears a hoodie someone might call the police because he looks threatening. If police approach him and he doesn’t react in a typical way, would they wrestle him to the ground? […] Already, I’ve tried to instill how he should act around police. My son doesn’t understand why anyone would be afraid of him or assume that he is a bad person because of his skin color. When I tried gently to explain, he cried”.

Jackie Spinner, associate professor at Columbia College Chicago, for The Washington Post

This August marks one year since Elijah McClain’s wrongful death at the hands of Aurora, CO officers and medics, and activists are rallying communities to advocate for justice. With your help, and bolstered by the federal civil rights lawsuit filed yesterday, we can finally see justice for Elijah and the McClain family. Please share this story and today’s action with your community.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Elijah McClain was murdered by the police in August 2019 and none of the involved officials have been charged with a crime
On Tuesday, August 11 the family of Elijah McClain filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Aurora and the police officers and paramedics responsible for his death
Despite persistent action from the community, the family is still seeking justice
A coordinated campaign for the month of August hopes that justice will finally be found