BRIGHTON, Colo. — A jury has acquitted a Denver-area police officer of manslaughter, following trial testimony that he put Elijah McClain in a neck hold before the Black man was injected with the powerful sedative ketamine by paramedics and died.
The acquittal came Monday in the second of three trials against first responders who were indicted by a grand jury in the 23-year-old massage therapist’s 2019 death. The charges came two years after McClain died and amid social justice protests nationwide in response to the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others.
McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, left the courthouse Monday with a fist raised in the air. A supporter who accompanied her called the verdict “pathetic” and a sign that the justice system was not changing.
The first trial ended in a split verdict with one Aurora officer found guilty and another acquitted.
Jury selection in the final trial, against Paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec with the Aurora fire department, is scheduled to begin Nov. 17.
Here’s what you need to know about the criminal trials:
PHOTOS: What to know about Elijah McClain's death and the cases against police and paramedics
Local prosecutors initially decided not to bring charges in McClain’s death largely because an initial autopsy didn’t determine exactly how he died.
Following the protests over Floyd’s death Democratic Gov. Jared Polis directed the state attorney general to re-investigate the McClain case. A grand jury indicted the three officers and two paramedics in 2021. Dr. Stephen Cina, a forensic pathologist who performed McClain’s autopsy, said he changed his findings to pin the blame on the sedative ketamine in 2021 after looking at body camera footage.
Officer Nathan Woodyard was the first of three officers who approached McClain after a 17-year-old 911 caller said McClain, who was wearing earbuds and listening to music, seemed “sketchy” and was waving his arms as he walked home on the night of Aug. 24, 2019. McClain was often cold and wore a runner’s mask and jacket despite the warm weather, prosecutors said in the indictment.
The encounter quickly escalated. Prosecutors say Woodyard put his hands on McClain within eight seconds of getting out of his patrol car without introducing himself. McClain, seemingly caught off guard, tried to keep walking.
Then, after officer Randy Roedema said that McClain had reached for one of their guns, Woodyard put him in a neck hold, pressing against his carotid artery, which rendered him temporarily unconscious. Joyce said McClain didn’t try to get a gun, but defense attorney Megan Downing said Woodyard had to react quickly to protect everyone since officers did not have the luxury of hindsight to know whether McClain posed a threat.
The paramedics later injected McClain with an overdose of ketamine. He was pronounced dead three days later.
Woodyard had been charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Prosecutors contended his actions including the neck hold contributed to McClain’s death. But defense attorneys convinced the 12-person jury that the officer wasn’t responsible, arguing Woodyard wasn’t present during crucial moments in the confrontation with McClain.
Woodyard testified that he put McClain in the neck hold because he feared for his life after he heard McClain say, “I intend to take my power back” and another officer say, “He just grabbed your gun, dude.”
Rosenblatt - who faced charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault - also was acquitted. His attorney pointed out at trial that Rosenblatt was not near McClain when Roedema and another officer, who was not charged, held down McClain while paramedics administered the ketamine.
Roedema was the most senior of the three officers. He was convicted in October of the least serious charges he faced - negligent homicide and third-degree assault. He faces a sentence of anywhere from probation to prison time.
The actions of Cooper and Cichuniec loomed over the first two trials. They’re charged with manslaughter, negligent homicide and several counts each of assault - all felonies.
Defense attorneys for the officers repeatedly said it was the ketamine injection - not their clients - that caused McClain’s death. In Woodyard’s case, the defense brought in a paid expert witness who has also worked for the prosecution in the paramedic’s case. Dr. Nadia Iovettz-Tereshchenko, an emergency room doctor who has worked as a paramedic, said Cooper and Cichuniec did not follow their training protocols in caring for McClain.
“There are people guilty of killing Elijah McClain but they are not here today,” defense attorney Andrew Ho said during closing arguments in Woodyard’s case. He added, referring to the paramedics, that it was “decided to give him an overdose of 500 milligrams of ketamine despite being explicitly trained not to do so.”
Prosecution experts also said the ketamine was the ultimate cause of death after the officer’s violent stop of McClain set in motion events that led to and contributed to his killing.
A use of force expert who has been tracking the McClain case said it was unusual for medical professionals to be brought to trial for the death of a person in police custody.
“When paramedics show up at a scene they have to make fast decisions, obviously, and they base their decisions based on what the officer are telling them, and then apply what they believe is the proper course of treatment,” said Ed Obayashi, an attorney and use of force training adviser who spent more than two decades in law enforcement.
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Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
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