Jury acquits police officer of charges from Elijah McClain's 2019 death

Nathan Woodyard on Monday was found not guilty of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges stemming from the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.

Last month, a jury convicted Randy Roedema of third-degree assault and criminally negligent homicide. Officer Jason Rosenblatt, however, was acquitted.

McClain died after paramedics injected him with ketamine while he was restrained by police. The final cause of death was ultimately amended from "undetermined" to "complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint," ABC News reported.

Woodyard was the first officer on the scene in the ultimately fatal incident and placed McClain in a corotid hold. Prosecutors had argued that the hold contributed to McClain's death while the defense pointed to the ketamine the EMTs administered to him.

"We have never disregarded the tragic circumstances, but are relieved for what we believe is the just outcome for our client," said a statement from Woodyard attorneys Megan Downing and Andrew Ho.

McClain's death attracted minimal press attention at the time, but his face became prominent amid the 2020 demonstrations surrounding the death of George Floyd. 

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.