AURORA, Colo. – Hundreds of people are expected to gather Friday evening to demand that three officers involved in the in-custody death of Elijah McClain be fired by the Aurora Police Department.
“For ten months Aurora Police Department has shielded Elijah McClain's murderers on their force from facing any form of justice. It was only last Friday, just ahead of a mass march for Elijah, that they pulled the three killers off the streets and put them on paid desk duty,” the Party for Socialism and Liberation – Denver (PSL) said in a statement about the event. “We need to make it clear that this is absolutely NOT enough.”
Last Friday, APD announced officers Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema had been taken off street duty "because of threats and harassment," according to a police spokesperson. Police said those threats involved phone calls as well as email messages.
Officials did not disclose to which department the officers were reassigned, but said they were working in a "non-enforcement capacity."
The PSL says they expect murder charges “for the three killers” and demand that APD fire all three “IMMEDIATELY.”
Organizers of Friday’s protest are also calling for the release of the names — as well as the immediate termination — of all officers involved in an incident involving a photograph taken near the site where McClain struggled with officers. The officers were seen in the picture imitating the carotid hold used on McClain before the 23-year-old Black man died last August.
RELATED: Officer who was depicted in photograph at site of Elijah McClain's arrest has resigned
The rally will start at 6 p.m. at the intersection of Billings St. and Evergreen Avenue, the site where organizers say, “Elijah was brutalized and killed and where APD danced on his grave.” From there, protesters will march to the APD headquarters at the Aurora Municipal Center.
The march and protest will put APD’s response to test once again, following a violent night of confrontation between officers and protesters last Saturday.
MORE: Aurora Police Interim Chief defends police response to Elijah McClain protest
Organizers say there will be people of all ages at Friday’s protest, “who do not want a repeat of last Saturday’s violence from APD, but (who) will not be intimidated out of exercising their First Amendment right to assemble and voice their concerns.”
McClain’s death, largely unnoticed for the past 10 months, recently garnered national media attention following nationwide calls to reform interactions between police and Black Americans in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
On Tuesday, the Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office, along with several other law enforcement agencies, announced they've been reviewing facts in the death of the 23-year-old Black man since last year for a potential federal civil rights investigation, saying they were aware of the photo allegations which surfaced Monday evening and were gathering further information about the incident.
This story was originally published by Óscar Contreras on KMGH in Denver.
