A Colorado jury has reached a verdict in the case of two Aurora police officers charged in connection with the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.
Aurora police officer Randy Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and assault in the arrest of the 23-year-old unarmed Black man who died after being subdued by police and subsequently injected with ketamine by paramedics.
Simultaneously, a second officer, Jason Rosenblatt, was acquitted of all charges, which included reckless manslaughter and assault.
Roedema’s sentence is scheduled for Jan. 5.
On the evening of August 24, 2019, the 23-year-old McClain had recently bought iced tea from a corner store in Aurora when the police intercepted him. The officers had been dispatched in response to a report about a person acting suspiciously, wearing a ski mask, and gesturing.
McClain often wore a mask due to a blood disorder that made him sensitive to cold, as his family has explained.
When the officers instructed McClain to stop, he responded by stating that he was an introvert and requested, “please respect the boundaries that I am speaking,” as revealed in bodycam footage of the encounter.
Officers proceeded to interrogate McClain, and they subsequently wrestled him to the ground, suspecting he might be trying to reach for one of their firearms, according to the police account. However, no evidence has emerged to indicate that McClain, who was unarmed, attempted to seize one of the officers’ guns.
He was then placed in a chokehold by Officer Nathan Woodyard, who is set to go on trial this week. Two paramedics later injected the 23-year-old with ketamine to sedate him after police video showed him writhing on the ground saying, “I can’t breathe, please.”
McClain later went into cardiac arrest and was later declared brain dead. He sadly passed on Aug 30.
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