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Nathan Woodyard, the third Aurora officer to face trial, is charged with reckless manslaughter in Elijah McClain’s 2019 death.
AURORA, Colo. — Prosecutors could wrap up their case against the third Aurora officer charged in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain by the end of this week.
Nathan Woodyard was the first officer to contact McClain on Aug. 24, 2019, after a teenage boy called 911 and relayed that he saw McClain wearing a coat and mask and acting “suspicious.”
He is charged with reckless manslaughter and was one of five people – three officers and two paramedics – indicted in McClain’s death.
Woodyard grabbed McClain within eight seconds of approaching him, and he and fellow officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt subdued and restrained him. In the midst of the struggle, Roedema shouted that McClain had attempted to grab Rosenblatt’s gun – an act the prosecution asserts did not happen.
That statement led the officers to wrestle McClain to the ground, use a carotid hold that briefly rendered him unconscious, and handcuff him. Later that same night, paramedics injected McClain with the sedative ketamine. His heart stopped, and he later died.
On Tuesday, jurors heard from the nurse who helped draw McClain’s blood after he was admitted to UCHealth. They also heard from various workers from a private lab in Pennsylvania where the Adams County Coroner’s Office sent samples to be tested.
They testified that both ketamine and marijuana were found in McClain’s blood, but could not say what effect the marijuana might have had on McClain’s behavior that night.
Medical experts have testified that the ketamine was the primary cause of MClain’s death, but prosecutors allege that Woodyard violated department policy after he put McClain in the carotid hold by, among other things, failing to monitor his health or tell paramedics that he had been rendered unconscious and had vomited.
On Wednesday jurors are expected to hear from three or four witnesses. Prosecutors plan to call their final witness on Friday.
RELATED: Officers, EMTs testify Friday in trial of officer accused of causing death of Elijah McClain
Woodyard’s trial began last week, just days after the trial wrapped up for Roedema and Rosenblatt. Jurors in that trial acquitted Rosenblatt of all charges but convicted Roedema of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. He’s set to be sentenced in January.
Woodyard remains suspended without pay pending the outcome of this case. If convicted, he could face up to six years in prison.
Jeremy Cooper and Peter Chichuniec, the paramedics who responded to the call, are set for trial in November. They are each charged with reckless manslaughter and numerous counts of assault. Both are suspended without pay while they await trial.
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