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Aurora bans use of ketamine until Elijah McClain investigation is complete

Paramedics administered 500 mg of ketamine to sedate the 23-year-old after an encounter with the Aurora Police Department.

AURORA, Colo. — Aurora City Council on Monday night voted to suspend emergency responders’ use of ketamine until the Elijah McClain investigation is complete.

The August 2019 death of McClain has made international news as Black Lives Matter protesters across the U.S. have called for justice for the 23-year-old, who died of cardiac arrest after an encounter with the Aurora Police Department (APD).

>> Watch a timeline of the McClain case in the video above

Paramedics with Aurora Fire Rescue (AFR) administered 500 mg of ketamine to sedate him, and officers were later told he had no pulse in the back of an ambulance and needed CPR.  

The moratorium on the use of ketamine by AFR and city contractors will last for the duration of the city’s independent investigation into the death of McClain. That investigation will include a review of the administration of ketamine. 

There are now five separate investigations into APD and its role in the death of McClain. From the city and state level, all the way up to a federal probe, each of the investigations is looking into something different. 

RELATED: State health department launches investigation into ketamine use following Elijah McClain case

RELATED: FBI, DOJ eyeing Elijah McClain case for potential federal civil rights investigation

The city of Aurora in July approved its second attempt at an independent investigation into McClain's death and appointed civil rights attorney Jonathan Smith to lead the team of three investigators.

RELATED: The Elijah McClain case: A timeline of events — one year later

RELATED: Aurora's independent investigation into the Elijah McClain case is beginning

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