Elijah McClain.Photo:Courtesy McClain Family
Courtesy McClain Family
Nathan Woodyard, thethird Aurora, Colorado police officerto stand trial for the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, was found not guilty Monday.
Woodyard was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide and assault in the death of McClain, an unarmed Black man who died while walking home from a grocery store on Aug. 24, 2019.
Elijah McClain.Courtesy of the McClain family
“We are respectful of the process in what is a very difficult case,” Woodyard’s lawyers, Megan Downing and Andrew Ho, said in a statement toABC Newsafter the verdict. “We have never disregarded the tragic circumstances, but are relieved for what we believe is the just outcome for our client.”
Downing did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“Today’s verdict is not the one we hoped for, but we respect the jury system and accept this outcome. I thank the jurors for serving and performing their civic duty,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in astatementMonday.
“We remain undeterred in our pursuit of accountability and justice for Elijah McClain and his family and friends,” Weiser later said, in part. “I’m thinking of Sheneen McClain, who has fought hard to keep her son’s memory alive. No mother should go through what she has.”
Police officers stopped McClain in connection to a 911 call that reported a suspicious person operating in the area. As the encounter escalated, Woodyard allegedly applied a chokehold on McClain, causing him to briefly lose consciousness.
Prior to Woodyard’s trial, two other officers, Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt, faced a jury in connection to McClain’s death on the same charges. Roedema was found guilty, while Rosenblatt was acquitted.
During the trial, Woodyard’s attorneys attempted toshift blame onto paramedicsJeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, who are set to face trial later this month.
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McClain suffered cardiac arrest and died several days later.
Family Photo
In 2021, the city of Aurora settled a $15 million civil rights lawsuit stemming from the case.
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source: people.com
