AURORA, Colo. — After spending the morning arguing for an acquittal and having it denied, the defense attorneys for the two Aurora officers charged in the death of Elijah McClain rested their cases without calling any witnesses.
Opening statements in the trial for suspended officer Randy Roedema and former officer Jason Rosenblatt were on Sept. 20. Since then, prosecutors have laid out the case to the jury. They rested their case Friday morning after wrapping up questioning of their final witness.
On Friday, out of the presence of the jury, Adams County Judge Mark Warner asked Roedema and Rosenblatt whether they wished to testify, and both said they did not. On Monday, counsel and Warner will work on jury instructions. The jury will return at 10 a.m. Tuesday, when closing arguments are expected.
McClain, 23, was first contacted on Aug. 24, 2019, after a teenage boy called 911 and relayed that he saw McClain wearing a coat and mask and acting "suspicious." Less than a minute after police arrived, McClain was taken to the ground and engaged in a struggle with Roedema, Rosenblatt and a third officer. During that struggle, McClain was placed in a carotid hold, which can cut off the oxygen supply to the brain.
Roedema and Rosenblatt are among five people indicted in 2021 in connection with McClain's death. Both are charged with reckless manslaughter and second-degree assault.
Prosecutors allege that McClain was injured during the struggle with the officers to the point where he was nearly unresponsive just prior to being injected with ketamine by the paramedics.
While McClain did not have obvious physical injuries, numerous medical experts testified during the trial that they believed McClain became hypoxic (couldn't get enough oxygen) during the struggle with officers and also had acid build up in his blood. Those issues, the experts said, caused McClain to become almost unresponsive.
Defense attorneys for the officers have said that it was the ketamine, given by the paramedics, and not the actions of the officers that caused McClain's death. They also argued that the paramedics are the sole decision makers when it comes to medical care.
A third officer and two paramedics were also indicted and will go to trial later this year.
Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, the two paramedics who responded to the call, are set for trial in November. They are each charged with reckless manslaughter and numerous counts of assault.
Another officer, Nathan Woodyard, who was the first to respond to the call about McClain, was also indicted on a charge of reckless manslaughter. His trial is set to begin in mid-October.
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