Former Aurora, Colorado, police officer Randy Roedema was sentenced to 14 months in prison, four years suspended, and a suspended sentence after being found guilty of manslaughter and third-degree assault in the death of Elijah McClain. I received it.
Roedema was sentenced Friday by Adams County District Judge Mark Warner. Roedema, who was sentenced on October 13, had maintained his innocence. The maximum sentence for a former police officer was six years in prison. He could have received only a suspended sentence. Mr. Roema will serve his sentence in a county facility rather than a state facility.
Warner said Friday that his decision was influenced not only by the indifference shown by the officer, but also by his “good character.” He said he believed Roedema had “potential for rehabilitation.”
However, Warner added that McClain “wasn't really that much of a threat to anyone” when he was killed.
McClain's mother, Sheneen McClain, called Roema a “bully with a badge.”
“On the night of August 24, 2019, protecting our community was the furthest thing from Randy Rodema's mind,” she told the court.
McClain, a 23-year-old black man, was walking home when a 911 caller told police he saw a “spooky” figure in the area. When three police officers, Roedema, Nathan Woodyard, and Jason Rosenblatt, arrived at the scene, they approached McClain, who was unarmed and wearing a ski mask. His family said the mask was to help his anemia.
When officers approached McClain, they said they had the right to stop him because he was “suspicious,” according to body camera footage.
McClain responded that he was going home and that he had “a right to go wherever he goes.”
Roedema claimed McClain reached for Rosenblatt's gun during the ensuing struggle, but prosecutors questioned that claim during the trial.
The officers tackled McClain to the ground and handcuffed him. Body camera footage showed Roedema picking up McClain and slamming him to the ground.
When paramedics arrived on the scene, McClain, who is 5-foot-7 and weighs 140 pounds, was injected with enough ketamine to sedate a 190-pound man. Independent probe.
An autopsy revealed that McClain died at the hospital on August 30th. Ketamine toxicity.
Prosecutors had asked for Rohema to be sentenced to three years in prison, but the defense had only asked for a suspended sentence.
Roedema, a Marine Corps veteran, told the court he was still grieving McClain's death.
“I want the McClain family to know the sadness I feel over the loss of Elijah,” Roedema said. “He was young.”
“I think a lot about what happened that night when Elijah was taken to the hospital,” he said. “I can’t help but think of all the different scenarios that could have happened that night and had a different outcome.”
Woodyard was acquitted on November 6 of charges of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Mr. Woodyard was suspended after the charges were filed, but he has since returned to work.
Two paramedics, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichniec, were also found guilty of involvement in McClain's death. Cooper was found guilty of manslaughter but acquitted of assault in December. Szczniec was also found guilty of manslaughter and second-degree unlawful administration of a drug. He was also convicted of a sentence enhancement charge that automatically requires a prison term.
Both Mr. Citiniec and Mr. Cooper are scheduled to be sentenced on March 1st.
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