A Colorado grand jury has indicted three police officers and two paramedics involved in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.
Aurora Police officers Randy Roedema and Nathan Woodyard, former officer Jason Rosenblatt and Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec were each indicted on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide as part of a 32-count indictment.
The fact that the majority of those who were indicted still have their jobs is sickening.
On August 24, 2019, the 23-year-old unarmed Black man was walking home when he was stopped by officers, placed in a carotid hold, and injected with ketamine by paramedics.
The 24-page indictment said:
By the time he was placed on the gurney, Mr. McClain appeared unconscious, had no muscle tone, was limp, and had visible vomit coming from his nose and mouth.(Officer) Roedema said he heard Mr. McClain snoring, which can be a sign of a ketamine overdose.
Elijah never regained consciousness and was declared brain-dead on August 27.
He was ultimately removed from life support.
The indictment said:
Mr. McClain was a normal healthy 23-year-old man prior to encountering law enforcement and medical response personnel.
A forensic pathologist opined that the cause of death for Mr. McClain was complications following acute ketamine administration during violent subdual and restraint by law enforcement and emergency response personnel, and the manner of death was homicide.
The official Justice for Elijah McClain Instagram page posted the following message:
Two years coming. Without your advocacy, these charges would not have happened. Attorney General Weiser was not even appointed to investigate Elijah’s death until June 25th of 2020. At that point, Elijah’s family and their supporters had already advocated for a YEAR, and @justiceforelijahmcclain supporters had taken action OVER 1 MILLION TIMES.
Elijah’s mother is happy to hear this news and continues to amplify Elijah’s message that we should all be kinder to each other.
Next step: Convictions
Every person who laid a hand on Elijah McClain that night should spend the rest of their lives in jail.
Source: CNN
