In our attempts to better cover the #BlackLivesMatter movement; why it matters, and why people are rightfully upset — I decided to dig into a topic that I will confess I didn’t know much about. Truthfully, I had no idea that U.S cops use an otherwise questionably used drug to sedate would-be prisoners that for whatever reason they may deem a “threat.”
Teresa Crawford, Associated Press file
Denver officials have now opened a review in the death of Elijah McClain. The review comes amid reports that many didn’t realise that he was injected with Ketamine during the arrest although grounds for such may not have been fully there.
The Denver Post reports that officials opened up the review after sketchy terms from the EMS emerged. By terms, we mean the fact that EMS allegedly was given orders to use the strong sedative although it wasn’t needed.
“Our agency will work with medical experts to study the use of ketamine in the field — as well as the state’s oversight mechanisms — and produce a public report,” Jill Hunsaker Ryan, the state’s top public health official, said in a statement. “Patient safety and program transparency are top priorities.”
At the time of Elijah ‘s death — he had suffered a believed-to-be adverse reaction to being injected with the drug and then died 6 days later after being brain dead.