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DENVER (The Denver Channel) – A state grand jury returned a 32-count indictment against the three officers and two paramedics involved in the August 2019 death of Elijah McClain in Aurora, including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, among other charges, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Wednesday.
The three officers involved in the incident that preceded McClain’s death – Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema – as well as Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, each face the counts of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Roedema and Rosenblatt each face another second-degree assault with intent to cause serious bodily injury charge and one count of a crime of violence.
The two paramedics also face multiple counts of second-degree assault for causing serious bodily injury and using a deadly weapon – the ketamine McClain was injected with after he was accosted by the officers.
Weiser said the indictment was returned by the grand jury last Thursday after it was convened last December. The indictment is being filed in Adams County District Court Wednesday and will be unsealed.
“City leaders respect the judicial process irrespective of the outcome and encourage Aurora residents and others across the country to do the same,” the city of Aurora said in a statement immediately following Weiser’s announcement. “The city has fully cooperated with the Attorney General’s Office and their investigators throughout their work. The results of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office’s separate investigation into the patterns and practices of APD are still pending. We will provide additional thoughts after today’s news conference concludes”
McClain’s death happened after a violent encounter with police on Aug. 24, 2019, as he walked home from a convenience store. The 23-year-old unarmed Black man was put in a carotid hold and paramedics injected him with a heavy dose of ketamine. He went into cardiac arrest and was declared brain dead days later before he died on Aug. 30, 2019.
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