A Colorado jury found Aurora police officer Nathan Woodyard not guilty Monday in the second trial regarding the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain.
Authorities charged with reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in 2019 after being the first to arrive on the scene, eventually placing McClain in a carotid hold. (RELATED: ‘I Hate Black People’: Police Officer Fired Over Racist Text Messages)
“We believe it was the right verdict, not an easy one,” Woodyard’s defense lawyer Megan Downing stated, according to AP News.
BREAKING: The jury has acquitted Nathan Woodyard on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the second trial concerning the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain following an altercation with police in Aurora, Colorado. https://t.co/aRQobgHTUZ pic.twitter.com/6LAAu0b2uT
— ABC News (@ABC) November 6, 2023
On Aug. 24, 2019, police stopped McClain while on his way home from a convenience store. A bystander had reportedly called 911 stating that McClain was acting “sketchy,” noting he had a ski mask on, according to ABC News.
While the caller had stated that there was no weapon or no immediate danger, police arrived on the scene stopping the 23-year-old. Body cam footage showed an altercation breaking out between McClain and police officers, with Woodyard placing him in a carotid hold. (RELATED: Forklift Operator Holds Alleged Car Thief 20 Feet In The Air While Waiting For Police)
What happened between police and Elijah McClain the night he died?@_esaliba analyzed body cam footage, 911 calls and police reports to piece together a timeline.
Warning: footage is graphic and may be disturbing. pic.twitter.com/d7IpiEM9Re
— NBC News NOW (@NBCNewsNow) June 26, 2020
Woodyard testified that he had placed McClain in the hold because he feared for his life after he heard McClain state, “I intend to take my power back,” as well as another officer on the scene say, “He just grabbed your gun, dude,” according to AP News.
McClain can be heard stating that he was having trouble breathing on body cam footage and later choked on his vomit while being restrained. However, when EMTs arrived on scene McClain was given a shot of 500 milligrams of ketamine. According to department policy, the injection was for “rapid tranquilization in order to minimize time struggling.”
After being loaded into an ambulance McClain later suffered a heart attack, declared brain-dead, and died on Aug. 30, 2019.
While prosecutors argued that the carotid hold from Woodyard is what contributed to McClain’s death, the defense blamed the ketamine given by EMTs.
Woodyard is the second Aurora police officer to be found not guilty, following Jason Rosenblatt’s acquittal. However, Officer Randy Roedema was found guilty within the first trial on Oct. 12 of criminally negligent homicide and assault in the third degree.