A second Denver-area police officer was acquitted Monday in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, who was put in a neck hold and injected with ketamine after being stopped by police as he walked home from a convenience store. The jury found Aurora officer Nathan Woodyard not guilty of homicide and manslaughter following a weekslong trial in state district court, the AP reports. He faced years in prison if convicted. Defense lawyer Megan Downing said, "We believe it was the right verdict, not an easy one." Woodyard declined to comment. McClain's mother, Sheneen McClain, who was in the courtroom, wiped tears from her eyes after the verdict was read.
An earlier trial against two other officers resulted in a split verdict, with one convicted of homicide and third-degree assault and the other officer acquitted. Unlike the first two officers who were prosecuted, Woodyard took the stand during his trial. He testified that he put McClain in the neck hold because he feared for his life after he heard McClain say, "I intend to take my power back" and another officer say, "He just grabbed your gun, dude." Prosecutors disputed that McClain ever tried to grab an officer's gun, and it can't be seen in body camera footage.
Defense attorneys stressed Woodyard was not there during crucial minutes when McClain's condition was deteriorating. Body camera footage seen by jurors showed Woodyard stepping away for part of the confrontation. Two paramedics are awaiting trial later this month. McClain was stopped Aug. 24, 2019, while walking home from a convenience store on a summer night, listening to music and wearing a mask that covered most of his face. The police stop quickly became physical after McClain, seemingly caught off guard, asked to be left alone. He had not been accused of committing any crime.
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Paramedics injected McClain with ketamine as officer Randy Roedema, who was convicted last month, and another officer who was not charged held him on the ground. He went into cardiac arrest en route to the hospital and died three days later. The case received little attention until protests over the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked renewed outrage over McClain's death. The 23-year-old Black man's pleading words captured on police body camera video, "I'm an introvert and I'm different," struck a chord. (More Elijah McClain stories.)
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