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Elijah McClain, in an undated photo posted by the family-affiliated Justice For Elijah McClain Instagram account. McClain died after a violent arrest by Aurora Police officers in 2019. (via @justiceforelijahmcclain on Instagram)

The city of Aurora has reached a settlement agreement in the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Elijah McClain’s family, more than two years after the 23-year-old died after Aurora police officers confronted him and paramedics sedated him with ketamine while he was walking home from a convenience store. 

Attorneys representing Sheneen McClain, Elijah’s mother, confirmed the settlement in a statement Monday, though the amount was not disclosed.

“The court will now determine allocation of the proceeds between Ms. McClain, the parent who raised Elijah McClain by herself, and Lawayne Mosley,” his biological father, the statement said. 

A status conference is set for Nov. 19, court records show. 

Ryan Luby, deputy director of communications for Aurora, also confirmed that a settlement had been reached.

“City leaders are prepared to sign the agreement as soon as the family members complete a separate but related allocation process to which the city is not a party,” Luby said in a statement. “Until those issues are resolved and the agreement is in its initial form, the parties cannot disclose the settlement terms. No amount was discussed in the recent telephonic court hearing.”

Sheneen McClain filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver in August 2020.

The defendants include the city of Aurora and about a dozen police officers and fire department employees. The settlement comes after a grand jury returned a 32-count indictment against the Aurora police officers and paramedics who stopped McClain in the encounter that preceded his death. Three police officers and two paramedics were charged with one count of manslaughter and one count of criminally negligent homicide.

One of the indicted officers, Jason Rosenblatt, was fired from the Aurora Police Department last year after he responded “ha ha” to a text-messaged image of other officers reenacting a neck hold like the one police used on McClain.

Olivia Prentzel is a general assignment writer based in Colorado Springs for The Colorado Sun, covering breaking news, wildfires and all things interesting impacting Coloradans. Before joining The Sun, Olivia covered criminal justice for The Colorado Springs Gazette. She’s also worked at newspapers in New Orleans and New Jersey, where she grew up. After graduating college, she lived in a tiny, rural town in southern Madagascar for three years as a Peace Corps volunteer. When not writing, Olivia enjoys backpacking and climbing Colorado’s tallest peaks.