A Colorado jury has convicted Randy Roedema, one of two former Aurora, Colorado police officers, in the death of Elijah McClain, a young Black man who died after being restrained and injected with ketamine. However, the jury acquitted officer Jason Rosenblatt.
Sheneen McClain, Elijah’s mother, expressed her frustration with the decision to convict one officer while acquitting the other. “America is divided in so many ways, on so many levels, and in so many areas of understanding. If America ever wants to be great, then it has to enforce equity as well as equality that is represented in every law and seat that every citizen is governed by. Don’t say sorry to me for humans that fail even their own kind. My soul still cries out for Divine Justice For My Son Elijah McClain,” she told Denver7.
The officers confronted McClain in August 2019 in response to a call about a “suspicious person.” A third officer who was involved, Nathan Woodyard, put McClain in a carotid control hold, applying pressure to both sides of his neck. Paramedics then gave McClain a strong sedative – ketamine- which led to him suffering a cardiac arrest and later being declared brain dead at the hospital.
Following McClain’s death, Colorado Governor Jared Polis ordered an investigation into the incident. In September 2021, a grand jury indicted the three officers and two paramedics on a combined total of 32 counts. The two paramedics, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, are also scheduled to stand trial.
An independent investigation by the city of Aurora found that the officers did not have a valid legal basis to stop, search or apply the hold on McClain. It was concluded that McClain “died of complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint.” This report proved crucial in the defense’s case.
Following the jury’s verdict, Aurora Police Chief Art Acevedo expressed respect for the verdict, noting that “many have been waiting a long time for the involved parties to have their day in court.”
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