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On 24 August 2019, Elijah McClain was walking home from a convenience store, listening to music and wearing a ski mask, in Aurora, Colorado when a 911 caller reported him as “looking sketchy” — a call that would lead to the death of the 23-year-old and a social uprising against how race plays a role in policing. Police spotted McClain — who was not armed and had not committed any crime — and put him in a neck hold. Paramedics then arrived at the scene and injected the young man with ketamine. He died three days later. Now, just over four years after the incident, jury selection began on Friday for the trial of two Aurora police officers — Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt — who had interacted with McClain. The trials of a third officer and the two paramedics are also expected to happen later this year. Why is the trial happening now? The first coroner’s report in November 2019 said that the manner of death was “undetermined,” contributing to a local district attorney’s decision against pursuing charges against the officers involved in the incident. In response, Mari Newman, the lawyer representing McClain’s family told Denver7 ABC, “Whatever the report says, it’s clear that if the police had not attacked Elijah McClain, he would be alive today.” But the incident generated significant public backlash. In June 2020, an online petition demanding that the three officers involved be held accountable circulated, garnering nearly 6 million signatures. A GoFundMe page for McClain raised over $2m. Then, in June 2020, Colorado Gov Jared Polis signed an executive order designating a special prosecutor to determine whether “the facts support prosecution, criminally prosecute any individuals whose actions caused the death of Elijah McClain.” The coroner provided an amended version in July 2021, writing that she believed the “tragic fatality is most likely the result of ketamine toxicity.” Shortly thereafter, in September 21, a grand jury indicted three officers and two paramedics involved. A Colorado district judge ordered three separate trials for the five defendants, and now jury selection is underway for the trial of Mr Roedema, a suspended officer, and Mr Rosenblatt, who was fired in the wake of the incident. Who was Elijah McClain? McClain was a 23-year-old massage therapist. He had reportedly earned his GED from Emily Griffith Technical College in Denver and became a massage therapist at 19. Friends and family described him as a gentle person — to humans and animals. He taught himself to play guitar and violin, and would play his violin for cats in a rescue shelter during his lunch breaks, The Cut reported. “I don’t even think he would set a mouse trap if there was a rodent problem,” his friend Eric Behrens told the Sentinel. Another friend — and former client — Marna Arnett called McClain “the sweetest, purest person I have ever met,” she added, “He was definitely a light in a whole lot of darkness.” “He wanted to change the world,” his mother, Sheneen McClain, told the outlet. “And it’s crazy, because he ended up doing it anyway.” Who were the officers and paramedics involved? A grand jury indicted five involved in the incident. Two Aurora Police officers, Randy Roedema and Nathan Woodyard, and one former officer, Jason Rosenblatt, as well as former paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec were each indicted on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. According to the 32-count indictment, Mr Woodyard placed the 23-year-old in a carotid hold, while Mr Roedema, the senior patrol officer on the scene, placed him in a bar hammer lock; he said he heard McClain’s shoulder pop three times as a result of the movement. Mr Roedema and Mr Rosenblatt were each indicted on one count of assault and one count of crime of violence. Mr Rosenblatt was fired not for his interaction with McClain directly, but for laughing at a photo sent to him from a fellow officer reenacting a neckhold that resembled the one used on McClain. Mr Woodyard was also allegedly sent the photo, but didn’t react to it and deleted it. He stopped McClain for supposedly looking suspicious and is set to go on trial later this year. The paramedics were each indicted on three counts of assault and six counts of crime of violence. Neither Mr Cooper nor Mr Cichuniec took McClain’s vitals, try talking to the 23-year-old, or touch him before diagnosing him with a widely disputed medical condition called “excited delirium,” prompting them to administer ketamine, according to the indictment. They have all pleaded not guilty. In May, a national organisation of coroners became the latest to denounce “excited delirium,” which is often cited as a cause of death by police in instances of violence from officers against community members. The National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) announced they would cease recognising the condition. What happened to Elijah McClain? Bodycam footage which was released months after the encounter captured the officers interacting with the 23-year-old. An officer approached McClain, who was listening to music, and demanded he stop walking. Eventually, he complied, as an officer apparently said he was stopping McClain for looking suspicious. When the officers tried to grab McClain, he resisted, saying, “I am an introvert. Please respect the boundaries that I am speaking.” The officers repeatedly told McClain to “stop tensing up.” Moments later, McClain was brought to the ground and held in a carotid hold. He can be heard moaning, sobbing, repeating that “it hurts” and pleading with the officers to stop. McClain then tried to turn to his side to vomit, prompting an officer to say: “If you keep messing around, I’m going to bring my dog out here and he’s going to bite you.” The 23-year-old vomited, and apologized. “I wasn’t trying to do that,” he says. “I just can’t breathe correctly.” According to a report from an independent panel, the paramedics “waited almost seven minutes after arriving to interact with Mr. McClain, and their first contact was to administer the sedative ketamine.” He suffered from cardiac arrest on his way to the hospital and died a few days later. The autopsy revealed that he was 5ft 6in tall and weighed just 140 pounds. The coroner’s amended report said, “Simply put, this dosage of ketamine was too much for this individual and it resulted in an overdose … I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine.” The aftermath McClain’s parents reached a $15m settlement with the city of Aurora. “I hope Elijah’s legacy is that police will think twice before killing another innocent person,” his father, LaWayne Mosley, said after the settlement was announced. “There is nothing that can rectify the loss of Elijah McClain and the suffering his loved ones have endured,” Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson said at the time. “I am committed to learning from this tragedy.” The 23-year-old’s death occurred around the same time as the deaths of Breanna Taylor and George Floyd, who were also Black Americans killed at the hands of police. Together and separately, the deaths propelled protests and sparked demands for police reform. And at least in Colorado, some policies were reformed. In 2020, the state banned police from using neck holds. The Colorado health department prohibited paramedics from implementing ketamine for those supposedly experiencing “excited delirium,” like in the case of McClain. Read More Trial begins in Elijah McClain death, which sparked outrage over racial injustice in policing Elijah McClain cause of death quietly ruled as ketamine as police face charges for violent 2019 arrest Elijah McClain: Colorado city to pay $15m to family in historic police misconduct settlement

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Alex Albon has a habit of leaving no stone unturned. Another victim of Red Bull’s brutal driver merry-go-round in 2021, dropped as Max Verstappen’s team-mate for Sergio Perez, the British-Thai driver was desperate for a race seat for 2022. Aware of George Russell’s impending move to Mercedes, Albon approached then-Williams CEO Jost Capito with a list of resources: a CV and an Excel spreadsheet, comparing his superior lap times to his rivals. Suitably impressed by both his determination and statistics, a deal was agreed. “Albono” was back on the grid. So to now, and the rebirth of the 27-year-old at a team rejuvenated. Albon has carved out 21 points in the first 14 races of this season at a team who managed only 39 points from 2018-2022. A five-year period where they were bottom of the pile, the wooden spoon holders, in four of those five years. Sunday’s seventh-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix was Albon’s best performance yet for Williams, more impressive than an identical result in Montreal in June. A display of crisp driving to qualify sixth on Saturday was coupled with dogged defensive work lap after lap on Sunday, even with his tyres dropping off in the final stages in Monza. Though the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull of Sergio Perez had too much pace, Albon had the McLarens on his gearbox for most of the afternoon. But using exquisite car placement and intimate driver nous, that’s exactly where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri stayed. First to acknowledge Albon’s display was Williams team principal James Vowles, whose influence on this team in his first six months cannot be overstated. Arriving after years of success and experience as Mercedes’ chief strategist, the highly astute 44-year-old was ready to step out of Toto Wolff’s shadow. Tasked with rebuilding a team whose level and morale was rock bottom – the years of title triumphs under Sir Frank Williams in the 1990s a very distant memory now – Vowles was under no illusions to the scale of the challenge. “The main thing is this: what I want to see is positive progress and it won’t be weeks or months, it will be more than that – it’s on a years [long] timescale,” Vowles said, back in March. “There are no short-term solutions, everything is long-term.” Yet if this is what short-term progress looks like, how far can Vowles take this sleeping giant of the sport in the long-term? Williams are currently seventh in the constructors’ standings and a clear seventh at that, leapfrogging Alfa Romeo, Haas and AlphaTauri this season. In Albon, they have a driver who is flourishing as a clear No 1 in the garage. And in Vowles they have an experienced head whose obsession with F1 means, much like his driver, every ounce of effort and second of lap-time will be eked out to the maximum. For example, he was attuned to McLaren’s “dummy” pit-stop late in the day at Monza, with the papaya even shuffling out their mechanics in an attempt to trigger Williams to pit Albon instead. Vowles, who has seen such moves numerous times in his 12 years at Mercedes, could not help but laugh about it afterwards. He also stole a march on Alpine – next up the road, sixth in the standings – by poaching Pat Fry in July to be Williams’ new Chief Technical Officer. The straight-line speed of the FW45 has contributed to top-10 finishes in Bahrain, Silverstone and Zandvoort this year. Even Lewis Hamilton was bemoaning Williams’ pace in qualifying on Saturday – who could have predicted that a few years back? There are still issues to solve, the most prescient their second seat currently occupied by Logan Sargeant. Albon’s sturdy points-tally is in stark contrast to the American rookie, languishing at the bottom of the standings. Point-less after 14 races, another glimpse of a top-10 finish went astray for Sargeant on Sunday. Speculation is rife that Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher could be thrust into the seat for 2024. Sargeant has eight races left, including two in the US, to prove his worth to Vowles and keep a seat which will be highly sought after if Williams continue in the same direction. Race wins and championships are still some way off. The tally of nine constructors’ crowns and seven drivers’ titles will not change anytime soon. But the gradual renaissance of one of Formula 1’s staple teams – who celebrated their 800th grand prix earlier this year – is one of 2023’s feel-good sub-plots in a season dominated by Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Albon has committed until at least the end of 2024 and is likely to extend further should the top-dogs not come calling. Vowles is, quite clearly, in it for the long-haul. How quick the ascension can arrive remains unclear in the unrelenting arms race that is F1, but both driver and team principal have reinvigorated all personnel in the famed dark blue kit both in the pit-lane and back at base in Oxfordshire. What’s more, neither want to seal the sole limelight. There is no room for overinflated ego. Is this an Alex Albon story? Is it a James Vowles story? What is abundantly clear is that it is a bit of both. Read More The moment McLaren failed with a ‘dummy’ pit-stop over shrewd Williams Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz chases down thieves and recovers £500,000 watch in scary Milan incident ‘Box to overtake’: The moment McLaren failed with a ‘dummy’ pit-stop over Williams ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix

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