Nearly a year after the death of Elijah McClain, the Aurora City Council on Monday unanimously approved hiring a nationally-known civil rights attorney to head up its independent investigation into what happened the night of Aug. 24, 2019.

The 10-person council on Monday gave the OK to hire Jonathan Smith to start work on the case right away. Smith is based in Washington, D.C., as the Executive Director of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.

According to Smith’s website, he led the civil investigation of the Ferguson, Missouri, Police Department following the death of Michael Brown. He also served as senior counsel to the assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division during the Obama administration. 

Smith was brought on to replace the first lawyer, Eric Daigle, who was appointed to lead the investigation. His contract was terminated last month when the Council decided that, in the face of growing dissent, his experience as a former police officer who specializes in use of force cases could be biased.

Smith did not return a call for comment.

In a statement, the council said, “Unfortunately, an attorney with a long career in law enforcement that specializes in defending municipal police departments from liability claims doesn’t qualify, in our minds, as a neutral review.”

Smith will begin immediately reviewing the body-worn camera footage from the incident and looking into the 17th Judicial District’s investigation, which wrapped last November absolving the officers of any wrongdoing. 

Aurora City Council also granted approval to the resolution that outlines the role of the third-party independent investigation. 

McClain died Aug. 30 after being stopped by police who had received a 911 report of suspicious behavior. He had been walking the few blocks home from a convenience store after buying iced tea for his brother. He was wearing a face mask and listening to headphones, which his friends told the Aurora Sentinel was likely why he did not immediately answer officers when they asked for him to stop.

Body-worn cameras show that police used a now-banned carotid choke hold on McClain during a struggle. Once inside the ambulance, he was given a dose of ketamine by Aurora Fire paramedics. He went into cardiac arrest on the ride to the hospital and was taken off of life support six days later.

Aurora’s three-consultant panel will review city policies related to McClain’s arrest, including use of force by police officers and the use of ketamine by Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics. It will wrap up with recommendations for the city on how to revise policy to avoid situations in the future. 

PSCCS agenda item (1).pdf

The resolution states that, “The independent investigation team is to commence its work immediately and shall complete its investigation as expeditiously as possible”; however, despite landing the contract with Smith as the lead, the investigative panel is still missing the other two-thirds of the group. The council’s public safety committee is working to find a representative of law enforcement and a person who has served as a medical director to round out the review. 

The medical expert will be on board to examine the use of ketamine in McClain’s death. Public safety committee chairwoman Allison Hiltz told Colorado Politics that they have a list of names and are “going through the process of determining who will be the best fit.” 

The process has been slow and laborious. Hiltz advised Mayor Mike Coffman during the City Council’s study session that they located a qualified person, but had to move on because that candidate had lived in Denver for 20 years, which is “too much crossover,” Hiltz explained. 

In addition to the City of Aurora’s independent investigation, the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department announced earlier this month that they have been reviewing McClain’s case since last year. 

There’s a third investigation being done by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who was appointed by Gov. Jared Polis as a special prosecutor to examine the case.

Hiltz said the city will work in tandem with the Attorney General’s office’s investigation.

Meanwhile, the McClain family is planning a separate investigation as it plans a civil rights lawsuit into Elijah’s death.

The newly-approved resolution acknowledges these separate investigations into McClain’s death, promising it will not interfere with them as it explores its own answers. 

The city’s investigation is a direct response to recent protests following the death of George Floyd. Though McClain’s death happened almost a year ago, it has received international attention. Over 4.5 million people have signed a petition demanding justice for his death.

Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson and TV host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres have taken on the cause. DeGeneres tweeted about the case last month.