DENVER (Scripps News Denver) — The arraignment hearing for three former Aurora police officers and two former Aurora paramedics charged in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain was pushed back to Nov. 4 Friday.
An Adams County judge granted the continuance due to outstanding procedural matters that still need to be addressed and defense attorneys’ requests for more time to review discovery in the case.
Photo by: Glendale Police Services
Nearly three years ago, McClain was walking back home after stopping at a convenience store when officers stopped him. Officers pinned McClain down with a carotid hold, and paramedics gave him too high of a dose of ketamine.
McClain went into cardiac arrest, was declared brain dead, and died a week later.
On Friday, McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, showed up to Adams County Court and was expecting to see how the five men would plead in this case. Instead, she learned the arraignment was pushed back to November.
FILE – Demonstrators carry a giant placard during a rally and march over the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain outside the police department in Aurora, Colo., on June 27, 2020. The Denver suburb of Aurora has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the parents of Elijah McClain, a Black man who died after suburban Denver police stopped him on the street and put him in a neckhold two years ago, a family attorney said Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
“I’m shaking my head, I’m frustrated, I’m ready to cuss somebody out, you know, to be honest with you,” Sheneen McClain said. “It’s still frustrating because Elijah didn’t get that time. Elijah didn’t even get to walk home.”
Initially, a review board determined that the officers acted within department policy during the incident, but in Sept. 2021, a state grand jury returned a 32-count indictment against Nathan Woodyard, Randy Roedema, and Jason Rosenblatt, the three former APD officers, and Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, the two former Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics.
All five men face multiple charges, including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
This story was originally published Aug. 12, 2022 by KMGH in Denver, an E.W. Scripps Company.
