BRIGHTON, Colo. (CN) — A former Aurora, Colorado, police officer found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third degree assault will serve 14 months in county jail with work release for contributing to the death of Elijah McClain, an unarmed Black man apprehended while walking home in 2019.
“The court was shocked by what appeared to be indifference after [McClain] was in custody and in handcuffs,” said 17th Judicial District Judge Mark Warner. While presiding over three trials for five men charged with contributing to McClain’s death, Warner has remained tightlipped and by the book. He was appointed by Democratic Governor Bill Ritter.
“I can’t begin to comprehend what Mrs. McClain has been going through,” Warner said before turning to his statutory notes and reading the sentencing guideline aloud.
Sheneen McClain, Elijah’s mother, left the courthouse with her fist in the air. She called the sentence a slap on the wrist and a product of an unjust legal system handed down by a white-majority jury.
“This is what the law does,” McClain said. “Y’all better be better. Y’all better stand up. You’re either on the side of humanity or you’re on the side of killer cops. You’re either on the side of humanity, or you’re on the side of racism.”
McClain said she’s started writing a book, and that she’s confident her son’s name will never be forgotten in the fight of good versus evil.
“The world knows my son is innocent and should never have been stopped,” she said.
Elijah was the second oldest of six children, who McClain said she raised on her own. She recalled how her son would carry flies outside and set them free rather than kill them, that he taught himself instruments and loved the violin so much, he played for the kittens at the local animal shelter.
On Aug. 24, 2019, McClain, 23, was walking to his home in Aurora after purchasing three cans of Arizona tea when a passerby reported him as suspicious to 911, for wearing a ski mask and dancing down the sidewalk. Three police officers arrived within minutes, including Randy Roedema.
When McClain didn’t immediately follow orders to “stop” and “relax,” the officers handcuffed him, took him to the ground and engaged him in two constructive carotid holds. Also known as a “chokehold” or “sleeper hold,” the maneuver cuts off blood flow to the brain causing a person to black out.
As Roedema held McClain on the ground, he told police he was an introvert and a vegetarian. “Forgive me,” McClain told Roedema. “All I was trying to do was become better.”
After inhaling his own vomit, McClain passed out at the scene, and a paramedic injected him with 500 milligrams of ketamine — more than double the recommended dose for someone of his weight, 143 pounds. McClain never regained consciousness and died three days later in a hospital.
While Roedema has been sentenced to jail time, juries found the other two police officers involved not guilty. Another jury found first responders Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec guilty of manslaughter charges last month; they will be sentenced later this year.
Seventy-six people submitted letters to the court on behalf of Roedema, praising his characters and commitment to following rules. Two men he served with in the Marines testified in court about how he was wounded in Iraq during a reconnaissance mission.
Roedema served eight years as a Marine and 16 years in Colorado law enforcement. He addressed the court and the McClain family, holding steadfastly to his defense that he followed his training.
“I want to begin by giving my deepest condolences to the McClain family. I cannot imagine losing one of my kids,” said the father of three. “I often think about that evening Elijah was taken to the hospital, thinking of all the different ways he could have still been alive. Number one: I wish that bystander never made the call and I wish Aurora Fire Rescue were trained differently.”
Senior assistant attorney general Jason Slothouber recalled positive changes that followed in the wake of McClain’s death, including legislation that mandates police body-worn cameras and prohibits the use of sovereign immunity as a defense against state claims. In addition to having a consent decree with the state, the city of Aurora has since banned ketamine and carotid holds.
Slothouber recalled that Elijah was named for an ancient profit who leads his people away from evil and back toward the light.
“The life of Elijah McClain matters,” Slothouber said.
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