McClain died in 2019 after being put in a neck hold by a third officer and pinned to the ground, then injected by paramedics with an overdose of ketamine.
BRIGHTON, Colo. — Jurors convicted a Denver-area police officer Thursday of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault and acquitted another in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a Black man whose name became a rallying cry in protests over racial injustice in policing.
A local prosecutor in 2019 decided against criminal charges because the coroner’s office could not determine exactly how the 23-year-old massage therapist died. But Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ordered state Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office to take another look at the case in 2020, and the officers and paramedics were indicted in 2021 by a grand jury.
McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, sat with attorneys for the state in the front row of the courtroom during the trial, part of her quest to remind the mostly white jury that her son was a real person. She watched the encounter being played over and over again along with graphic photos from his autopsy.
McClain was stopped Aug. 24, 2019, while walking home from a convenience store on a summer night, listening to music and wearing a mask that covered most of his face. A 911 caller reported him as suspicious, and the police stop quickly became physical after McClain, seemingly caught off guard, asked to be left alone. He had not been accused of committing any crime.
But one of Roedema’s defense lawyers, Don Sisson, pointed out that McClain said “I intend to take my power back,” which he argued showed intent. The officers had to act in the moment to protect themselves, according to Sisson.“They didn’t get to watch the video over and over and over for three weeks before they get to act,” he said.
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