Elijah McClain's death. An independent investigation commissioned by Aurora revealed that the city's police officers did not have any grounds to force Elijah McClain to stop walking, or to use a chokehold on him on August 24, 2019, the day he died while in the same officers' custody. The report also said Aurora paramedics failed to properly examine McClain before injecting him with 500 milligrams of sedative ketamine, which was far too much for his size. (Denver Post)
Republican election reform efforts. Republican lawmakers in the Colorado General Assembly have introduced multiple bills aimed at overhauling Colorado's gold-standard election system, including adding limits to mail-in voting. It is unlikely the proposed changes gain any traction in the Democrat-controlled House and Senate, though, especially since prominent Democrats claim the legislation would dismantle a system that has made voting easier for more people. (Colorado Sun)
Robin Munro. This past fall, multiple women within the Denver art community came forward, claiming they had been sexually assaulted by artist Robin Munro, the founder of the popular CRUSH Walls festival. Over the past five months, Denverite gathered reporting that revealed a pattern of abusive behavior by Munro, as well as an art scene that mostly turned a blind eye to his conduct. (Denverite)