On Wednesday (September 20), the trial of one current and one former Colorado cop charged in Elijah McClain’s death began. On Aug.24, 2019, the 23-year old Black man was approached by police responding to a report of someone wearing a ski mask. The arrest ultimately contributed to his death.
Prosecutor Jonathan Bunge explained in opening statements that McClain said “I can’t breathe” seven times while he was handcuffed on the ground. “Listen to Elijah’s words,” Bunge said as police body camera footage was shown. “When Elijah is on the ground handcuffed, he’s saying over and over and over again, ‘I can’t breathe. Please help me.’”
Bunge then said that Aurora Police Officer Randy Roedema and his former co-worker, Jason Rosenblatt, refused to acknowledge the fact that McClain needed help. When paramedics arrived at the scene, officers told them that McClain used his “crazy strength.”
The paramedics then administered a sedative to McClain “as he was drifting closer and closer to death” when “the sedative was the very last thing he needed at the time,” Bunge said.
Roedema and Rosenblatt are the first of five people charged with McClain’s death to go to trial. They are each charged with one count of manslaughter and one count of criminally negligent homicide. The pair have pleaded not guilty.
The jury appeared to be mostly white and consisted of seven men and seven women. Roedema’s lawyer, Reid Elkus, said McClain didn’t start resisting arrest until another former Aurora police officer Nathan Woodyard put a hold on him. Elkus added that Aurora Fire Rescue paramedic Jeremy Cooper injected McClain with a lethal dose of ketamine which caused his death.
Rosenblatt’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, said McClain resisted arrest and allegedly stated “I intend to take my power back.” Steinberg added that Rosenblatt was “obligated” to help arrest McClain and that Roedema allegedly said McClain had “gone for” one of the officers’ guns.
Woodyard, Cooper and Aurora Fire Rescue paramedic Peter Cichuniec are all charged with one count of manslaughter and one count of criminally negligent homicide. They have also pleaded not guilty.