Colorado Officers and Paramedics Charged in 2019 Death
September 1, 2021 • by POL Staff • Bookmark +
Three Aurora, CO, police officers and two paramedics will face criminal charges, including manslaughter, in connection with the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.
A state grand jury indicted Aurora police officers Nathan Woodyard and Randy Roedema, former officer Jason Rosenblatt and paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec on 32 counts, according to an indictment made public Wednesday by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
All five face charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, the Denver Post reports.
The indictment comes just over two years after McClain, 23, died after being detained by the officers and injected with the sedative ketamine by paramedics.
McClain was walking to a convenience store the night of Aug. 24, 2019, when someone called 911 to report a suspicious person. The three Aurora police officers contacted McClain as he returned home.
Prosecutors say that when McClain refused to stop walking, the officers tackled him to the ground, handcuffed him and used a carotid choke hold to block the flow of blood to his brain. Officers reportedly ignored McClain's pleas to leave him alone. Paramedics reportedly injected him with 500 mg of ketamine, a powerful sedative, before taking him to the hospital.
McClain suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital, where he was later declared brain dead. He died Aug. 30, 2019, after being removed from life support.
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