Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons
BRIGHTON, Colo. — The jury deliberating the fates of the Aurora police officers involved in the death of Elijah McClain has reached a verdict. Jurors found Aurora officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. Officer Jason Rosenblatt was found not guilty.
Elijah McClain was a 23-year-old young Black man, a beloved brother and son, a massage therapist and gifted violinist. On August 24, 2019, he was stopped by Aurora police on his walk home from the convenience store. Officers Roedema and Rosenblatt then tackled him, restrained him and directed first responders to administer an overdose of ketamine, ultimately leading to his death a few days later.
The following statement can be attributed to ACLU of Colorado Executive Director, Deborah Richardson.
“While this verdict lays bare some of the responsibility Aurora officer Randy Roedema had in Elijah McClain’s death, both Officers Roedema and Rosenblatt must still be held accountable for more. They had no grounds to stop him in the first place. They had no grounds to restrain him. They had no grounds to direct paramedics to administer a lethal dose of ketamine. This egregious use of deadly force by Aurora police is unacceptable, outrageous, and intolerable.
“Today’s verdict does not erase the insurmountable pain, Elijah’s mother, Sheneen, has endured since the loss of her beloved son at the hands of Aurora police. Elijah should still be alive today. The arc of the moral universe has been far too long and painful for him, his family, and his community. We all continue to grieve.
“Just as people organized, protested en masse and held firm in their outrage while demanding accountability, we will build on those efforts to make Colorado a state free from police violence and terror. This moment demands it.”
