The initial autopsy report listed McClain’s cause of death as “undetermined.” The medical examiner’s office obtained body camera footage, witness statements and additional records that were part of the grand jury investigation and were not available before the autopsy was performed, pathologist Dr. Stephen Cina wrote in the amended autopsy report. “Simply put, this dose of ketamine was too much for this individual and resulted in an overdose, even though the blood level of ketamine was consistent with a ‘therapeutic’ concentration,” CIna wrote. “I believe Mr. McClain would probably be alive but for the ketamine administration.” Cina, who assisted with Broncucia-Jordan’s autopsy, wrote that based on his training and experience, he still believes the manner of death to be “Undetermined.” “I recognize that other reasonable coroners trained elsewhere may have their own philosophies about deaths in custody and may consider the manner of death in these types of cases to be either Homicide or ACCIDENT,” the pathologist added. CIna could not determine whether the carotid artery contributed to McClain’s death, he added. But “I have seen no evidence that the police-inflicted injuries contributed to the death,” he wrote. The amended autopsy report was signed in July 2021. It was released Friday after a Denver District Court judge granted the medical examiner’s emergency motion. McClain’s death just days after his interactions with police led to renewed scrutiny of the use of carotid and ketamine during law enforcement stops. His case gained renewed attention during the Black Lives Matter protests following the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Last year, a grand jury indicted three police officers and two paramedics involved in the McClain case. They face charges of involuntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and other charges. In 2021, the city settled a civil rights lawsuit with the McClain family for $15 million, and the Aurora Police and Fire Department agreed to a consent decree to address a pattern of racial bias found by a state investigation. CNN’s Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.
