Parents of Elijah McClain, 23, sue Colorado police department over the black man's death after he was put in a chokehold by white cops and sedated with ketamine on his way home from a convenience store

Elijah McClain's parents are suing a Colorado police department over his death after the unarmed black man was stopped on the street and put into a chokehold last year.

The McClain family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Tuesday in relation to the 23-year-old's death in the Denver suburb of Aurora in August last year. 

His family said they were seeking both accountability for the loss of a 'beautiful soul' and to send a message that 'racism and brutality have no place in American law enforcement'. 

'We have filed this civil rights lawsuit to demand justice for Elijah McClain, to hold accountable the Aurora officials, police officers, and paramedics responsible for his murder, and to force the City of Aurora to change its longstanding pattern of brutal and racist policing,' the family said in a statement.

McClain was walking alone along a street in Aurora on August 24, 2019 after buying iced tea from a convenience store when he was stopped by three white officers. 

The officers - Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema - said they were responding to a call about a suspicious person wearing a ski mask and waving his arms.  

The 911 caller had told the dispatcher that the man, identified as McClain, 'might be a good person or a bad person' and noted that he didn't have any weapons on him. 

His sister later said that McClain, who worked as a massage therapist and played violin, would sometimes wear a ski mask outside because he had anemia and would often get cold.   

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His family said they were seeking both accountability for the loss of a 'beautiful soul' and to send a message that 'racism and brutality have no place in American law enforcement'. His mother Sheneen McClain is pictured during a BLM protest over his death

The officers who stopped McClain on the street and put him in a chokehold are Jason Rosenblatt, Nathan Woodyard and Randy Roedema (left to right). None of the officers were charged over McClain's death 

When he was approached by the officers, McClain insisted he had done nothing wrong and kept walking.   

Bodycam footage shows McClain being tackled to the ground and put in a chokehold by the officers. 

Paramedics later injected him with 500mg of the sedative ketamine to calm him down. 

During the confrontation, McClain said he could not breathe before vomiting repeatedly, fainting and then going into cardiac arrest. 

He was later declared brain dead and taken off life support several days later.

The lawsuit filed on Tuesday claims one officer jammed his knee into McClain's arm 'with the sole purpose of inflicting pain by forcefully separating Elijah´s bicep and triceps muscles'.  

It also says two of the officers reported that all three of them simultaneously placed their body weight on McClain after a chokehold. 

One officer estimated that the collective weight on McClain, who weighed 140 pounds, to be over 700 pounds. 

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When he was approached by the officers, McClain insisted he had done nothing wrong and kept walking. Bodycam footage shows McClain being tackled to the ground and put in a chokehold by the officers

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During the confrontation, McClain said he could not breathe before vomiting repeatedly, fainting and then going into cardiac arrest. He was later declared brain dead and taken off life support several days later

The national reckoning over racism and police brutality following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis in May brought renewed criticism to Aurora police over McClain's death.

The three officers did not face any charges over McClain's death.  

Last month, three Aurora police officers - including one involved in initial ordeal - were fired and a fourth resigned after they shared photographs they took of themselves re-enacting the chokehold officers used on McClain. 

Rosenblatt, Erica Marrero and Kyle Dittrich were fired, while a fourth officer, Jaron Jones, resigned last month after the photos emerged.  

One photo depicted Dittrich and Jones recreating a carotid neck hold, while a grinning Marrero stood nearby. The pictures were taken near the site where the fatal struggle took place.

Rosenblatt, who was among the officers who subdued McClain, was fired for responding 'Haha' after receiving the photo. 

In June, Colorado Governor Jared Polis ordered prosecutors to reopen the investigation.  

Colorado District Attorney Dave Young, the prosecutor who determined there was no wrongdoing by the officers, defended his decision not to bring charges against them. 

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Last month, three Aurora police officers - including one involved in initial ordeal - were fired and a fourth resigned after they shared photographs they took of themselves re-enacting the chokehold officers used on McClain

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Demonstrators carry a giant placard during a rally and march over the death of Elijah McClain outside the police department in Aurora in June this year