Elijah McClain’s mother testifies at Capitol as prone restraint bill passes committee
DENVER (KDVR) — A renewed debate was heard Tuesday at the Colorado Capitol over a controversial way law enforcement restrains suspects, known as prone restraint.
Lawmakers at the Capitol originally wanted to prohibit cops from putting suspects in a prone restraint in most cases. That is because advocates said the prone restraint can restrict a suspect’s breathing, but law enforcement weighed in and legislators agreed to make changes to their bill.
Sheneen McClain made her way to the state Capitol Tuesday, advocating for the state to change how and when prone restraint is used. She recalled her son Elijah being placed in a prone position by officers despite not doing anything wrong.
“Any time I talk about my son, I cry,” McClain said as she began her testimony. “During the three trials of those that murdered my son, they all blamed their training as a reason why they handled my son so cruelly while ignoring the obvious. All of those individuals acted without any kind of humanity, care or concern for the life of my son who was tortured to death on the ground in the prone position.”
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Lawmakers sponsoring the bill note McClain is not alone, saying it’s an issue nationwide and here in Colorado.
“In 1995, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a memorandum of officers to get subjects off their stomachs as soon as they are handcuffed yet unfortunately, people keep dying. House bill 1372 and the amendment we are introducing marks an important step on the road to reducing these deaths,” said Colorado Rep. Steve Woodrow, a sponsor of the bill.
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Originally, the bill would have outlawed the use of prone restraints unless deadly force needed to be used. Police were not on board with that. So, sponsors added an amendment clarifying what prone restraint is and calling on officers to get people out of that position as soon as possible.
“It says that prone restraint is a use of force which does put it into the police accountability provisions that we passed in 2020,” said Rep. Leslie Herod, another sponsor of the bill. “And additionally, it says that someone has to be put in that recovery position that allows for optimal breathing. And then finally, it says that policies and procedures that are adopted by the law-enforcement agencies must be posted publicly; that’s all the bill does. It’s pretty straightforward, but we know that it will save lives.”
Leaders in law enforcement, like Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez, welcomed the change.
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“I have seen the strike under the amendment, and I think there is some really good movement there. If we move away from basically the ban if you will on prone restraints except under those deadly force situations, I’m all about contentious improvements through policy and through training I would support that,” Vasquez said.
The bill advanced out the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 8 to 3. It heads to the House Appropriations Committee next.
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