Elijah McClain A Wrongful Death Case:
Law Enforcement vs. Paramedics
Elijah McClain was a 23-year young violinist, massage therapist, and a brother, son, nephew, and friend to members of the Aurora, Colorado community. On August 24, 2019, Aurora police department approached Elijah stating he looked suspicious because he was wearing what a 911 caller referred to as a ski mask. When the officers approached, Elijah quickly stated “I’m simply trying to go home.” The officers demanded that Elijah stop and talk with them and then proceeded to attempt to physically detain Elijah. A struggle ensued and one of the police officers yelled “he’s going for your gun”. You could hear Elijah asking the officers to let him go and also stating he didn’t have a gun. Elijah was brought to the ground and placed in a cardiac choke hold. In several body cam videos, you can hear office Nathan Woodyard state that he placed Elijah in a choke hold twice.
Aurora Police Department (APD) Officer Nathan Woodyard is charged with reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of McClain. Previously, a jury found APD Officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. Former APD Officer Jason Rosenblatt, who was fired by the department less than a year after McClain's death, was acquitted of all charges.
Elijah was declared brain dead days later and died Aug. 30, 2019. A pathologist found he was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for somebody of his size and, as a result, he overdosed. The City of Aurora settled a civil lawsuit with McClain’s family in November 2021 for $15 million.
Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper, Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics, trials begin on Nov. 17 and 27, 2023 respectively, for charges of reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault, plus sentence enhancers. The paramedics are accused of injecting a significant amount of ketamine into McClain, causing him to overdose.
Prosecutor Slothouber, during his closing arguments on Friday, said “The defendant had all the information he needed to do the right thing.” Slothouber said there was no need for the escalation that followed. He further argued that Aurora police officers are trained to de-escalate in all practical scenarios. Woodyard testified on his own behalf. The Prosecutor pointed out Woodyard's own statements during a cross-examination, when "he said it would have been practical to just have a conversation," with Elijah. If Woodyard stopped McClain, asked some questions and had a conversation, he would have realized he was speaking with a "kid on his way home" who was dancing to music, Slothouber said.
“At every single turn, he chose to escalate," he said, noting that Woodyard admitted on the stand that he took advantage of the first possible moment to put his hands on McClain.
“There was no explanation to McClain of what was happening at that moment or any afterward”, Slothouber said. He went on to say that Woodyard completed a course on KOGA, or arrest control techniques, and was an instructor for that type of training. “He was not a newbie and knew that if he put his hands on McClain, the 23-year-old would likely tense up”.
Slothouber explained to the jury that the manslaughter charge against Woodyard is not a murder charge, meaning Woodyard never intended to kill McClain, but rather that he recklessly caused his death or contributed to his death. Four ways Slothouber said the defendant caused the death of Elijah are as follows:
1. Woodyard did not follow his APD training, which instructs officers to de-escalate. Instead, he followed up on his threat of "changing the situation.”
2. He chose to use the carotid hold. Injuries from that led to McClain's death. It started a hypoxic cycle. This, plus the vomit in his mask, led to acidosis. Even a few minutes of that can lead to a rapid deterioration of health.
3. McClain's multiple complaints of "I can't breathe" were a medical emergency but police ignored it, which led to his death. Woodyard did not tell paramedics or the sergeants at the scene of these complaints.
4. Woodyard encouraged the pinning down of McClain in the prone position right before and after getting the ketamine injection from paramedics.
Ho, the defense attorney argued “Ketamine is what killed Elijah McClain, That is what this entire trial should have been about. This fact has been repeated over and over and over. Every time an expert took that stand, they all testified that it was the ketamine.” The Defense attorney went on to say that Woodyard did not kill McClain and is not responsible for what others did or did not do, Ho said. He added that this trial had been about other people and their actions, or in actions, and the government simply wanted Woodyard to take the blame. The paramedics administered the 500 mg of ketamine — an overdose — to McClain, not Woodyard. And they made that decision within 90 seconds, despite no assessment of the 23-year-old, and against their training, Ho said.
On rebuttal, Prosecutor Slothouber asked the jury to approach their deliberations by starting with a discussion about the big issues of the case. He listed those out as the risks, problems and dangers Woodyard created, what happened to McClain from a medical standpoint and why McClain was in such bad shape before the ketamine injection.
Deliberations in the trial of Aurora Police Officer Nathan Woodyard have been paused for the weekend as the jury went home Friday evening.
By Achoti Tamar
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