The trial of two Aurora, Colorado police officers charged in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was placed in a chokehold and injected with a powerful sedative, is set to begin this week.
The joint trial will be the first of the three scheduled that involves the 23-year-old massage therapist’s encounter with police and first responders on the night of Aug. 24, 2019.
The Colorado attorney general’s office has charged two police officers, a former officer, and two paramedics with one count each of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, as well as other charges, NBC News reported.
They have all pleaded not guilty.
The trial of Officer Randy Roedema and a former officer, Jason Rosenblatt, is set to start in Adams County District Court in Brighton, Colorado, following the conclusion of jury selection.
Rosenblatt was fired after he texted “ha ha” in response to a picture sent to him by other officers, one of whom appeared to be administering a chokehold near a memorial for McClain.
Roedema is on administrative leave without pay.
Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec are scheduled to be tried later this year after the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday denied both requests to have their cases dismissed. They are also on administrative leave without pay.
Officer Nathan Woodyard, who placed McClain in the chokehold that forced him into unconsciousness, is also expected to be tried this year.
He was fired after the incident.
The encounter began when three Aurora police officers stopped McClain as he was walking home from the store. The police were responding to a report of a suspicious person wearing a ski mask and waving his arms.
McClain was wearing a mask that night, which he often did because of a blood condition that made him feel cold, according to his family.
The officers questioned him and then grabbed him when one of the officers thought McClain was reaching for a holstered gun.
Authorities said officers applied a carotid control hold on McClain, a type of chokehold meant to restrict blood to the brain.
In video footage obtained by NBC, McClain could be heard telling police, “I can’t breathe correctly.”
Paramedics were called to the scene and injected McClain with ketamine to sedate him.
About seven minutes later, McClain did not have a pulse and went into cardiac arrest inside an ambulance, according to a report released later that year by the district attorney’s office.
Medics revived McClain, but he was declared brain dead less than a week later and taken off life support.
An autopsy said McClain died of complications from ketamine administration while being forcibly restrained.
“I believe this tragic fatality is most likely the result of ketamine toxicity,” the report said, adding McClain received a higher dosage of the sedative than he should have. “Simply put, this dosage of ketamine was too much for this individual and it resulted in an overdose.”
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