Elijah McClain
As The Denver Post reports:
Three Aurora police officers and two paramedics will face criminal charges, including manslaughter, in connection with the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.
A state grand jury indicted Aurora police officers Nathan Woodyard and Randy Roedema, former officer Jason Rosenblatt and paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec on 32 counts, according to an indictment made public Wednesday by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
The indictment comes just over two years after McClain, 23, died after being violently detained by the officers and injected with the sedative ketamine by paramedics.
The charges brought by the grand jury mark the first time the officers and paramedics involved in McClain’s death have faced any punishment for their actions that night.
Congressman Jason Crow (D-Aurora) issued the following statement after news of the indictments became official:
“While nothing can bring Elijah McClain back, this is a critical step in ensuring that justice is served on his behalf. I stand with Elijah’s family, friends, and community who mourn his loss. Today we join the community in seeking greater accountability and justice.”
McClain was killed on August 24, 2019 while walking home from a convenience store in Aurora.
While long, long overdue, it is never too late to do the right thing.
This shameful atrocity was a blight on Colorado’s reputation, and a damning reflection of Aurora’s Police Department. Never again!!
Now what will Coffman say? I’ll bet he defends the Police.
Demonstrating exactly why DAs cannot be trusted to make appropriate charging decisions in cases involving police misconduct. Their relationship with police is too close, too continuous for them to make a conflict-free decision.
Agreed. Any other type of attorney would recognize it as a conflict of interest.
Yep. There is zero room for debate or discussion on any of those points.
Doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican; conservative or liberal. It's a damn sad day when you can't walk down a street without being accosted for no reason.
I'm particularly glad to see the paramedics included in the indictment.
Well, I think identifying as D or R or conservative or liberal matters a great deal. But I also agree that what happened to Mr. McClain was a crime.
You're missing my point. People, no matter how their politics falls, have a constitutional right to walk down a normal street.
Well said, CHB.