Officer involved in Elijah McClain photo investigation resigns
The Aurora Police Department announced Thursday that one of the officers involved in photographs currently being investigated by the department has resigned. The unreleased photographs show officers near where Elijah McClain was killed reenacting the hold that preceded his death, according to sources cited by CBS Denver.
"In response to inquiries by the press, Jaron Jones, hired October 31, 2016, tendered his resignation," the department tweeted. "Jones was one of the employees involved and depicted in the photograph investigation related to #ElijahMcClain."
Three officers have been placed on administrative leave while the photos are investigated. The department did not specify if Jones was one of the officers who had been put on leave.
The department's interim police chief, Vanessa Wilson, on Monday promised to release the results of a full investigation "promptly upon its conclusion."
"This will include reports, photographic evidence obtained, officer's names, and my final determination which can rise to the level of termination," Wilson said.
McClain was killed last August after police confronted him on the street. After one of the three officers present said he saw McClain reaching for one of their guns, an officer put him in a chokehold and he fell unconscious. Although he regained consciousness, he was later sedated with ketamine, and eventually suffered cardiac arrest that led to a loss of blood flow to the brain. He died three days later.
The three officers involved in McClain's death were moved off regular duty last week "in an effort to protect those officers," a city spokesperson said. The district attorney did not charge them with any crimes — but in response to growing protests, Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed a special prosecutor to review the case last week.
