Lakewood Attorney to Address State Cover-Up
News Release from Anita M. Springsteen, Esq.
UPCOMING PRESS CONFERENCE
Topic: COVER UP OF CIRCUMSTANCES OF ELIJAH MCCLAIN’S DEATH BY THE STATE OF COLORADO GOVERNMENT
When: 3:00 PM on Wednesday, July 17, 2024 (following Oral Argument before the Court of Appeals at 2:00 PM).
Where: Front entrance at the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center, 2 East 14th Avenue Denver, CO 80203.
Civil Rights Attorney Anita Springsteen will be holding the press conference following Oral Argument to the Colorado Court of Appeals (in Case Number 2023 CA 1322, Sturgell v. CDPHE, et. al.) to address collusion by high level public officials, including the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, to conceal public records and protect bad actors responsible for the death of Elijah McClain (and for injuring thousands like him). This continues to put the public at risk today.
The appeal addresses public rights under the Colorado Open Records Act and abuses of the system, such as unfair fees for public records and delay tactics, to conceal wrongdoing by government actors.
It also addresses severe and ongoing consequences to public safety when records are illegally withheld, resulting in deaths and injuries.
Although authorities would have the public believe that justice has been served in the Elijah McClain case and that legislation has resolved the ketamine issue – the real truth has not yet emerged. This appeal marks only the beginning.
The underlying truth regarding death and injury to thousands of Coloradans (especially People of Color) caused by forcible injection with ketamine continues to be ignored and concealed by the highest officials of Colorado government.
Despite an inadequate prosecution of officers and paramedics in the McClain case, justice has not been served. The worst actors (such as “medical directors” who misused their medical licenses and conflicted “regulators” at CDPHE) remain unpunished – protected by the CDPHE and in utter hypocrisy, by the prosecutors themselves – the Attorney General’s Office.
In order to protect bad actors, CDPHE remains in violation of the Colorado Open Records Act – still refusing after four years of litigation to release copies of the fifty 2-page ketamine waivers given to fire districts. Waivers allowed paramedics to recklessly inject and kill innocent people without doctor supervision based on false claims of “excited delirium” – a condition they knew was fake and has now been officially debunked and outlawed.
Why won’t CDPHE release the waivers? Because they know the waivers were illegal and that every time ketamine was injected, it was also illegal – making the state liable for thousands of injuries.
The Emergency Medical Practice Advisory Council (EMPAC), an illegal entity overseen by CDPHE, approved ketamine waivers. EMPAC had no actual authority to waive the use of a deadly Schedule III controlled substance, or to illegally sign waivers.
Why does this matter? This system of cover up continues to put Coloradans in danger as CDPHE fails to regulate paramedics and continues to employ those responsible for the ketamine deaths.
Also, many Coloradans died because CDPHE refused to fill CORA requests as required by statute, blocking Plaintiff’s public safety investigation meant to save lives. CDPHE willfully and wantonly caused further deaths, like that of Hunter Barr. This blatant disregard for public safety and lack of accountability cannot stand.
Government attempts to contain the damage by focusing only on the injury to Elijah McClain and only on lower-level bad actors, while still failing to provide real justice for anyone hurt by ketamine, must not be tolerated.
Plaintiff and I call for a legitimate investigation into the injuries of all Coloradans injected with ketamine, and federal prosecution of those who violated the law.
We also ask for the CORA statutes to be protected and for the end of EMPAC.
For media inquiries, contact:
Anita Springsteen, Esq. at 720-838-3421 or [email protected]
Owner of the Springsteen Law Firm, LLC – www.springsteenlawfirm.com
Former City Councilor for the City of Lakewood
Vice-chair of Legal Redress for Rocky Mountain NAACP
(The press conference is not on behalf of RMNAACP, and statements made do not necessarily reflect the views of RMNAACP)