City of Aurora will pay $15 million settlement over death of Elijah McClain

AURORA, Colo. —  CBS Denver has learned the City of Aurora has agreed to pay $15 million to the family of Elijah McClain to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed over McClain’s death. Three sources familiarized with the tentative deal confirmed the amount to CBS Denver.

All of them requested anonymity because they were not allowed to speak about the settlement.

Officials from the City acknowledged an agreement was reached but refused to release details until the deal was signed. McClain, 23 years old, died in 2019, several days after a confrontation between Aurora police.

McClain was walking home from a trip in a convenience shop when Aurora police approached McClain.

One citizen called police saying McClain looked “skeptical”. McClain was confronted by Aurora officers. A verbal altercation turned into a physical confrontation and a chokehold was used. McClain went into cardiac arrest after paramedics administered ketamine to him. McClain was unarmed.

McClain died days later, just days after the confrontation. An autopsy revealed that McClain’s cause of death was not known.

His mother, Sheneen McClain commenced a federal suit in 2020 against the City of Aurora, the officers and fire department personnel involved in her son’s tragic death. Her attorneys announced last month that the case had been settled in principle and all claims in the federal civil rights lawsuit were resolved.

They didn’t release financial information as Sheneen McClain, Elijah McClain, and Lawayne Mosley (Elijah McClain) are still discussing how the settlement will be divided. This Friday’s court hearing is set.

The $15 million settlement would be more than the $12 million wrongful-death settlement in the case. Breonna TaylorPolice in Louisville, Kentucky, shot and killed the suspect in a botched drugs raid.

According to a review of past civil settlements, the McClain settlement is not enough to cover the $27 million that the City of Minneapolis paid to George Floyd’s family. However, it will be the largest in Aurora Police History.

A spreadsheet that was compiled by Aurora administrators, and obtained by CBS Denver, shows that the city paid $7,397.814 over the entire period of 2010 to 2019. For 2019 and 2020, there were no settlements for police cases.

For a 2015 death the largest settlement for wrongful death in Aurora was $2600,000

CBS Denver has learned from CBS Denver that Aurora had an insurance policy with a limit of $10 million in 2019 when McClain’s murder occurred. Multiple Aurora officials claim that the $5 million difference between the insurance policy amount and the settlement amount will likely come from Aurora’s general fund. 

Aurora residents are unlikely to feel the impact of the $5 million draw, as city sales taxes have increased. Sales taxes for 2021 are expected to rise by 15.2%, or $24.1 million, compared with 2020. For 2021, sales taxes will be $47.7 Million more than originally projected.

Qusair Mohamedbhai was an attorney representing Sheneen Maclain and said he wasn’t able to comment on any terms of settlement with Aurora.

Mari Newman, Elijah McClain’s father, stated that she couldn’t comment on the terms of the settlement.

The state grand jury indicted McClain’s three Aurora police officers as well as two paramedics. The charges range from manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

Major police settlements:

• George Floyd – The City of Minneapolis paid $27 Million for Floyd’s Death
• Pretrial settlement: Elijah McClain – Aurora (Colorado) agrees to $15 million
• Breonna Taylor – Louisville Kentucky agrees to pay Taylor’s family $12 Million and reform police practices after no-knock raid
• Chicago paid $5 million to Laquan McDonald’s after he was killed by police.
• Freddie Gray – Baltimore reached an agreement with Gray’s relatives for $6.4million in 2015, over Gray’s incustody death
• Philando Castile, St. Anthony, Minnesota, paid Castile’s mother $3M and $800,000 to Castile’s girlfriend after he was shot and killed by an officer