♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight -- >> stop right there. >> step towards justice. >> stop right there. >> elijah mcclain, a young black man coming home from the convenience store, stopped by police. now two years after his death, rare criminal charges against three officers and two paramedics. >> just because police have a badge on, they're not above the law. >> i been praying. been praying for two years. it's a prayer answered. plus selena and friends. the superstar -- >> i am so nervous, i'm excited >> -- teams up with comic legends martin short and steve martin. >> selena was right there trying to figure us out. >> i still am. >> acomic whodunit.

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just a few months after george floyd's murder, it led to a rare indictment today. >> i was just going home. i'm an introvert -- >> reporter: heart-wrenching pleas galvanized a nation. police body cam footage capturing elijah mcclain's final moments. before he died in police custody. now nearly two years to the day of his death, his family finally on the road to justice. >> the grand jury returned a 32-count indictment. we recognize that this case will be difficult to prosecute. these types of cases always are. our goal is to seek justice for elijah mcclain, for his family and friends, and for our state. >> reporter: 32 counts, including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, for each of the three officers and two paramedics involved in his death.

arrest warrants issued for all five wednesday morning. >> law enforcement will be held accountable just like anybody else. no one is above the law. so this serves as a message not just to law enforcement officers here in colorado, but across the entire country, that they will be accountable. >> it's amazingly rare to see officers indicted on charges like this. because this isn't your typical gunshot wound or videotaped use of force incident. >> reporter: it's even more rare for paramedics to be charged. these kinds of charges evading so many others brutalized at the hands of law enforcement. jacob blake in wisconsin. walter wallace jr. in philadelphia. andrew brown jr. in north carolina. daniel prude in rochester, new york. lin danny in hawaii. and countless others. no arrests, no charges. but for elijah's parents, satisfaction still tinged with grief. >> i been praying. been praying for two years.

it's a prayer answered. >> just because police have a badge on, they're not above the law. they're part of the system that needs to be refined. >> reporter: the 23-year-old described by family as a gentle soul who loved animals and taught himself to play the violin. >> no way, this is a luau party! >> he just cared a lot for others. he would do a lot for other people. he was a giver. giver of love, giver of whatever he can to make you feel better. even if he's not feeling good. >> reporter: he had just started a job as a massage therapist with dreams to go to college. >> my name is eladies and gentlemen yeah mcclain, i was just going home. >> reporter: on the night of august 24th, 2019, elijah was walking home from a nearby convenience store, carrying a bag of iced tea. this surveillance video shows him wearing a ski mask, something his family says he did because he had anemia, a blood condition that can make people

cold easily. what mcclain didn't know is someone called 911 to report a suspicious person. >> reporter: as elijah walked home, he was stopped by the three aurora police officers. >> stop right there. >> reporter: nathan woodyard, jason rosenblatt, randy rodema. >> stop, stop. >> reporter: the officers grab elijah. >> turn around. turn around. >> i am an introvert, please respect the boundaries that i am speaking -- >> relax. we're going to talk to you -- >> you guys started to arrest me, and i was stopping my music to listen. now let go of me. >> reporter: within moments two of the officers' body cameras fall off. the third camera captures a bit more of the struggle before it too ends up in the grass. civil rights attorney mari

newman represents the mcclain family. >> there was absolutely no reason legally why the officers should have stopped him in the first place. they grabbed him, they tackled him, they threw him to the ground. >> reporter: two minutes into the video, elijah mutters three fateful words. >> relax, just relax, relax. >> i can't, i can't breathe! >> reporter: the officers reported that two times they used a carotid restraint, commonly known as a chokehold. >> that's what i was doing, i was just going home -- >> he's begging for his life saying things like, i'm a pacifi pacifist, i'm a vegetarian, i don't have guns, i don't do those kinds of things. >> i don't judge people or anything -- >> it's absolutely heart-wrenching, listening to it. >> reporter: the officers say elijah resisted contact, and during the struggle, they claim he reached for one of the officers' guns. >> look at this. >> reporter: absoluteeventually officers recover their fallen

body cameras. >> that's mine. >> oh, yeah, i'm sorry, i wasn't trying to do that. i can't breathe correctly because -- >> reporter: the mcclain family believes the lack of clear body camera footage was intentional. >> in the video you can hear another officer who comes on the scene later picking up a body camera and saying -- tries to give it back to one of the officers. that officer says, "get that away from me, dude." >> your camera, dude. >> reporter: so he's intentionally trying to stay off of the body camera, as they inflict multiple different kinds of force on elijah mcclain. >> reporter: the 140-pound elijah was already in handcuffs they dosed him with ketamine, a powerful sedative. after they loaded him into the ambulance, elijah had a heart attack. he was rushed to the hospital and put on life support. his mother shaneen says these photos show elijah's physical

injuries. eventually doctors declared him brain dead, and three days later he was eventually taken off life support. >> bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. that was a part of me. there's no way to put a band-aid on that. he's always going to be gone. so there's no-no way. i can forgive, but i'm not going to ever forget. >> reporter: initially the officers and medics were not charged, in part because of precedent called qualified immunity which shields police officers from being held personally responsible for death while on duty, unless they clearly violate established law. >> so in qualified immunity, an officer here in the death of mcclain can say, i didn't know applying a carotid chokehold to someone two times and give them 500 milligrams of ketamine would kill someone, and qualified immunity hypothetically would protect them because there are no cases that would make that officer aware that this specific act would kill someone. and the problem with qualified immunity, it has been overused

in many instances, leaving many people without hope for justice. >> reporter: using qualified immunity as a defense was prohibited in colorado last year. the first state to do so. in response to today's 32-count indictment for elijah's death, the aurora police association said, our officers did nothing wrong, mr. mcclain died due to a combination of exertion due to his decision to violently resist arrest and a pre-existing heart condition, there is no evidence that apd officers caused his death." one officer was fired earlier this year, but two remain on the force. aurora fire rescue said they are committed to fully cooperating as the judicial process moves forward. while the case will now be fought in court, for elijah's parents the painful legacy from their son's death has a much bigger impact. >> knowing that he touched a lot of lives, he saved a lot of lives, so another parent doesn't have to go through this -- he's done a lot. he's probably up there smiling. >> i know my son's life means

more than i ever thought possible. and the fact that my family, my son, was called to bring light to the truth of this world is important to me. and it's definitely a mission that i have to carry on. >> we'll have more on "good morning america" tomorrow. up next, comedic genius pairing selena gomez with martin short and steve martin in their new comic whodunit. ♪ ♪ ♪ i used to pre-rinse because mom did. but i wasted up to 20 gallons of water every time. now, we just scrape and load. finish quantum works without pre-rinsing, cleaning your dishes to a shine. join the millions of americans skipping the rinse to save our water. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes

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'my own garden is my own garden,' said the giant, so he built a high wall all around it. then one morning the giant heard some lovely music. through a little hole in the wall, the children had crept in. and the giant's heart melted... and they found the giant...all covered with blossoms.

♪ so what happens when two

comedy legends team up with the multi talented selena gomez? one thing's clear, the trio hit it off. here's chris connelly. >> i was looking for something. and this was just such a wonderful surprise. >> hey! come over! >> she's a recording artist, a film actress, an animated movie voice. host of a cooking show. and more. at 29, selena gomez is a proven multi-talented marvel. with 250 million instagram followers, a loyal fan base inspired by her courageous example as she's navigated an array of personal challenges. you have fans that are grateful for everything you've shared with them and i'm sure convey that to you as they meet you as well, right? >> i am very, very lucky. i feel i've gotten the opportunity to grow up with my audience. so it's been really fun to just grow up with a whole generation of people. >> reporter: it's a generation hat first came to know

gomez on series tv, yet it had been a minute, nearly a decade, since she'd starred on disney channel's "wizards of waverly place." until television beckoned once more. >> i was so excited and really anxiety to find something in this space. it had been awhile since i had done tv, and really anything in the acting field. >> reporter: now she's joined with comedy legends steve martin and martin short for hulu's "only murders in the building." the three star in the ten-part comic mystery as new york city neighbors and true crime buffs who get their own case to crack and their own podcast to produce. >> selena, you have so many places that you can deploy your creativity. so many people eager to collaborate with you. what made this the right decision for you? >> it was such an instinct connection. and i loved the character. i also am a huge fan of true crime. so it was a no-brainer.

i was really excited. >> steve, why is true crime so fascinating to so many of us now? theories. have a couple of - >> found someone dead. >> what? >> sounds like they offed themselves. >> you're kidding me. >> can't let anyone in. >> we can't go to our apartments? >> one is that true crime usually has a beginning, a middle, and an end. which a lot of movies and stories, they don't end satisfyingly. so -- and i've longed to do, in my movie career, a crime story like that, where you're just compelled by it, you want to know who did it. >> oh, you're good. >> the blending of comedy was difficult. and this kind of blends it perfectly. >> that is a very good line. badly delivered but a good line. >> you don't know how many times i said to marty, "that's what you're going to do?" >> it's true. steve has always talked about wishing he could do something that was perceived as a crime,

as opposed to what the critics had called some of his work. >> ha, that's good. >> saw it coming a mile away. >> reporter: gomez got to witness the decades-long chemistry between these close friends, with more than 100 combined years in show business. their first collaboration came in 1986, "three amigos." ♪ my little buttercup has the sweetest smile ♪ >> reporter: more recently they fired zingers at each other for a two-man netflix special. >> you look like anderson cooper froze to death on new year's eve. >> when marty and i fly together, we save money because marty fits conveniently in the overhead bin. >> great chemistry sometimes is natural and organic. but it is aided and abetted by time. and working with someone. you get looser and looser and looser with each other and more trusting. steve and i have tremendous trust when we work with each other. often we'll have lines that --

and say, "you should say this line, it's better for you." >> how did you fit in with these guys who have 30-plus years of history together? >> i was a little nervous in the beginning. the first day i shooting i called my mom, i'm so nervous, i'm excited. it was with steve. >> i have mapp ped and have full blueprints of each floor. >> oh, you fancy. >> by the end of the first take i felt so welcome, so comfortable. when we're not shooting, all of our chairs are kind of -- we were at a safe distance, but we were always the three hanging out together. and they just made me laugh. they were so wonderful and great to the crew. i mean, it didn't even feel like work sometimes. >> there's a scene in the first show which i love, which is i'm speaking to selena about -- i say to her, "as you know, i am a director by day." and it cuts to her face and you

realize she has no idea who i am. >> kind of like real life. >> thank you so much. >> there's a very strong chance the killer is musical superstar sting. >> the guy from u2? >> did these guys talk in a language you sort of had to learn, selena? is that how it works? >> a few moments where it's like -- goes right over my head. but it's okay. i found it comforting. >> reporter: along with the laughter this series is knowing, too, rough with steve martin's observations on life in a manhattan apartment complex. >> i live in one of those buildings. in new york. and i've always thought of it as, it could be a character because there's so many varieties of people who live there. you always have elegant entrances. then it starts to deteriorate. >> reporter: gomez's mabel is no ingenue.

along with short's flop-tastic director. >> i love satirizing people in show business who feel that their worth is way more than it is. that's always -- right away makes me laugh. >> reporter: steve martin, struggling actor, a one-hit series wonder. >> quite a stretch, about an actor who was popular in the '80s. >> wow, that's so -- could you relate to that at all? >> no, i couldn't. >> reporter: while it never references the pandemic itself, its aura of loneliness and isolation matches the mood of our era. >> you know, i think, pandemic or not, it's very possible for three lonely-ish characters to exist in a building and be solitary and be single. and then meet up with a mutual interest. i mean, a mutual interest is what really connects disparate people. like bird watchers, you know? they're all over the map, you know, bird watchers.

and we're just crime watchers. >> reporter: the story's twists, turns, and torrent of suspects leave room for these crime watchers to connect. in doing so, revealing a new side of selena gomez's performing talents as she matches wits and costars. >> we're going to go look for clues, docume you want to come? >> do i want to break into a dead guy's apartment? sounds like an afternoon. >> selena was trying to figure us out. >> i still am. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm chris cobbnnelly in los angeles. >> watch "only murders in the building" on hulu now. up next, an impromptu act bringing much-needed light to a very stressful time. ♪ [♪] cooking and eating at home more often means food odors get trapped in your home's fabrics and released back into the air

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♪ hospitals across the nation continue to be overwhelmed by the pandemic. stressing staff to their limit.

which made this impromptu performance at the university of utah hospital all the more poignant. a hospital worker kicking off his crocs and taking his talent to the lobby with a little help from a nearby pianist. the hospital tweeting out the video, calling it a moment of pure joy. ♪ and no doubt healing. that's "nightline" for tonight. you can watch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. it's time for the biggest sale of the year, on the new sleep number 360 smart bed. it helps keep you effortlessly comfortable by sensing your movements and automatically responding to both of you. and, it's temperature balancing to help you stay comfortable all night. it even tracks your circadian rhythm, so you know when you're at your best. in other words, it's the most energy-building, wellness-boosting, parent-powering, proven quality night's sleep we've ever made. save 50% on the new sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. plus, 0% interest for 36 months