Prosecutors say Elijah McClain was just walking home as jury urged to convict officers in his death

By COLLEEN SLEVIN and MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Prosecutors seeking a conviction of two Colorado police officers in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain have implored a jury during closing arguments to remember that he was just trying to walk home on the night of the fatal encounter. McClain was put in a neck hold and and pinned down by officers before paramedics injected him with a powerful sedative. Witnesses testified that an overdose of the sedative killed McClain. But prosecutors say his restraint by officers triggered a series of health problems that made it hard for McClain to breathe and more vulnerable to a fatal overdose. Defense attorneys countered Tuesday that the officers had no choice but to subdue McClain after he resisted them.