Colorado police officer Woodyard charged in Elijah McClain’s death found not guilty

A second Colorado police officer charged in the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died in police custody in 2019, was acquitted by a jury Monday.

A 12-person jury found Aurora officer Nathan Woodyard, who had put McClain in a neck hold, not guilty of homicide and manslaughter Monday, The Associated Press reported. The ruling came after a weeklong trial in Colorado district court, where he faced years in prison if convicted.

McClain was walking home from a convenience store when police stopped him on claims that he appeared suspicious. Officers then placed McClain in a neck hold and handcuffed him before paramedics arrived on the scene and injected him with ketamine. He died several days later after he was taken off life support. 

Prosecutors argued that Woodyard’s actions taken during the encounter, including placing him in a neck hold, contributed to his death. However, the defense had argued that Woodyard was not present when McClain’s health was deteriorating.

An amended autopsy report released last year found that McClain died from a ketamine injection that was too large for his size.

Of the three officers who have gone to trial on charges connected to McClain’s death, two have been found not guilty. A third officer was convicted in an earlier trial on two of the lesser chargers he faced: negligent homicide and third-degree assault.

Two paramedics from the Aurora fire department are slated to go to trial later this month. So far, defense attorneys for the officers have placed the blame of McClain’s death on the paramedics, arguing that it was the injection that caused his death.

“There are people guilty of killing Elijah McClain, but they are not here today,” defense attorney Andrew Ho said during closing arguments in Woodyard’s case, according to the AP.

McClain’s family settled a lawsuit with the city of Aurora, Colo., for $15 million in November 2021.

The Associated Press contributed.