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A jury in Colorado cleared Nathan Woodyard, a police officer who was involved in the fatal shooting of Elijah McClain, an unarmed African American man, in 2019.
The death of McClain sparked widespread protests in 2020 against police violence and discrimination.
The choice comes after a state decision made last month, where one officer involved in the incident was cleared of charges, but a third officer was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault.
McClain, a massage therapist who was 23 years old at the time, was stopped by the police on August 24, 2019. The police were responding to a 911 call reporting a suspicious individual walking home from a convenience store.
The man from Colorado was placed in a neck hold known as a carotid restraint by the officers, causing him to lose consciousness.
Later on, paramedics administered ketamine, a potent sedative, to him via injection. He passed away in the hospital several days after.
Officer Nathan Woodyard was the initial one to detain the 23-year-old, placing his hands on the individual who was not carrying any weapons, without providing a clear explanation for the stop.
One of the officers, Mr. Woodyard, who tried to put McClain in a carotid hold, is currently on suspension from his duties.
The officer, who had served on the Aurora police for approximately two years during the incident, claimed that the paramedics who administered sedatives to McClain were accountable for his demise.
An attorney representing the officer stated to the jury that while there are individuals responsible for the death of Elijah McClain, they are not present today. It was also emphasized that Nathan Woodyard was not the one who killed Elijah McClain.
In a revised report for 2022, the coroner of Adams County stated that McClain’s cause of death was due to the administration of ketamine during a forcible restraint. However, the exact cause of death remains “undetermined.”
During the trial, the prosecutors presented their own specialist who contended that the use of neck restraints and sedatives were the cause of McClain’s death.
Forensic pathologist Roger Mitchell testified that both the restraint and the use of ketamine were responsible for the death of Elijah McClain.
The state contended that the officer did not adhere to APD’s training, which promotes empathy, listening, required de-escalation, and post-placement medical attention when using a carotid hold, which restricts blood flow to the brain temporarily.
Four years later, the state attorney Jason Slothouber argued that the defendant now possesses empathy. However, it was the version of the defendant that Elijah McClain encountered that ultimately caused his death due to negligence of his training and disregarding Elijah’s cries for assistance, including his inability to breathe. This is exactly the situation that he was trained to prevent, making him guilty of the crime.
This news story is currently developing and will be continuously updated with new information.
Source: the-independent.com
