Human Rights

Officers Investigated After Taking Photos At Elijah McClain Memorial

Several police officers were placed on paid leave when the photos were reported on Thursday afternoon.

Officers Investigated After Taking Photos At Elijah McClain Memorial
David Zalubowski / AP

Several Aurora Police Department officers are under investigation over photos taken at the site of Elijah McClain's memorial in Colorado.

McClain was a 23-year-old Black man who died after being arrested as he walked home from a convenience store in Aurora. His name is one of many being chanted by protesters in their demands for justice, racial equality and an end to police brutality. 

According to Aurora Police Department's interim chief, Vanessa Wilson, a fellow officer reported the photos. The chief did not reveal what the photos showed, but a local reporter says the officers were reenacting the restraint used on McClain before he died. 

The officers were immediately placed on paid administrative leave after the photos were reported Thursday afternoon.

Wilson said once the investigation is finished, its findings will be released publicly and will include "reports, photographic evidence obtained, officer's names, and [her] final determination which can rise to the level of termination."