When President Joe Biden signs his executive order on police reform at the White House on Wednesday, Elijah McClain’s mother will be on the stage with him, along with relatives of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

May 25 is the second anniversary of Floyd’s death. 

Sheneen McClain’s son, Elijah, died nine months before Floyd, but his death got little attention until racial protests erupted in Denver during summer 2020. Sheneen McClain was heard telling a crowd of protesters on the west steps of Denver’s capitol that it took the death of another man in another state for people to pay attention to the death of her son. 

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McClain, 23, was put into a chokehold and injected with ketamine after being stopped by Aurora police officers while walking home from a convenience store. He was unarmed but wearing a ski mask, which a 911 caller said looked “sketchy.” McClain later died at the hospital.

The measure would require federal law enforcement to review and revise policies on use of force, and it would restrict the flow of surplus military equipment to local police in addition to putting officers on the street and invest in neighborhood prevention programs.  

The order will also establish an accountability database which organizers said would require federal law enforcement organizations to supply disciplinary records of officers on a quarterly basis. The database would apply not only to federal officers, but to state and local cops who participate in joint task forces with the feds. 

In addition, the order would encourage limitations on chokeholds and no-knock warrants by attaching strings to federal funding.

It took months to solidify the executive order’s language, and involved input from The International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Fraternal Order of Police, The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. The National Action Network, the NAACP, and the National Urban League as well as attorneys who represent victims of police brutality are also reported to be supportive of the order.

“It is a broad coalition,” said Chiraag Banes of the Domestic Policy Council, who added that the president is also calling also calling on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act,  the aim of which is to change police culture by making it easier for the federal government to successfully prosecute police misconduct cases and eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement.

Biden’s executive order reportedly would require federal law enforcement to review and revise policies on use of force, and it would restrict the flow of surplus military equipment to local police.

In addition, the order would encourage limitations on chokeholds and no-knock warrants by attaching strings to federal funding.

The White House called Sunday night to invite Sheneen McClain to stand beside the president and Floyd’s family. She was on a plane with one of her attorneys, Qusair Mohamedbhai, Tuesday afternoon.

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“Sheneen is excited and humbled to meet President Biden,” Mohamedbhai wrote in a text from the airplane. “She looks forward to discussing Elijah, Colorado and supporting his national police reform plans.” 

McClain has never met Floyd’s relatives nor has she ever been to Washington, D.C. “Sheneen doesn’t accept all of the offers which come her way. She is still grieving the death of her son, but when the president calls, you go,” said attorney Siddhartha Rathod. 

When bipartisan talks to create a national police reform bill stalled last year, the administration began working on national legislation. 

“We know full well that an executive order cannot address America’s policing crisis the same way Congress has the ability to, but we’ve got to do everything we can,” said a statement from NAACP President Derrick Johnson.

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