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Arraignment for 3 former officers, 2 former paramedics charged in Elijah McClain's death pushed to November

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Posted at 5:48 PM, Aug 12, 2022
and last updated 2022-08-12 19:48:11-04

DENVER — The arraignment hearing for three former Aurora police officers and two former Aurora paramedics charged in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain was pushed back to Nov. 4 Friday.

An Adams County judge granted the continuance due to outstanding procedural matters that still need to be addressed and defense attorneys' requests for more time to review discovery in the case.

Nearly three years ago, McClain was walking back home after stopping at a convenience store when officers stopped him. Officers pinned McClain down with a carotid hold, and paramedics gave him too high of a dose of ketamine.

McClain went into cardiac arrest, was declared brain dead, and died a week later.

Arraignment for 5 charged in Elijah McClain's death pushed back again

On Friday, McClain's mother, Sheneen McClain, showed up to Adams County Court and was expecting to see how the five men would plead in this case. Instead, she learned the arraignment was pushed back to November.

"I'm shaking my head, I'm frustrated, I'm ready to cuss somebody out, you know, to be honest with you," Sheneen McClain said. "It's still frustrating because Elijah didn't get that time. Elijah didn't even get to walk home."

Initially, a review board determined that the officers acted within department policy during the incident, but in Sept. 2021, a state grand jury returned a32-count indictment against Nathan Woodyard, Randy Roedema, and Jason Rosenblatt, the three former APD officers, and Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, the two former Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics.

All five men face multiple charges, including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.