A presiding judge has denied the motion to dismiss charges against former Aurora, CO officers and paramedics charged in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.
Lawyers for five men (Officers Nathan Woodyard and Randy Roedema, former police officer Jason Rosenblatt and Aurora Fire and Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec).requested an Adams County Judge to review their cases. The defendants’ argued there wasn’t enough evidence to support the charges.
Judge Priscilla Loew reviewed thousands of pages that included testimony and evidence and found there was enough evidence to proceed with a trial against the defendants.
In the order, she stated:
After reviewing the grand jury materials, the court finds, when viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the people and with all inferences in favor of the prosecution, there is sufficient evidence to establish probable cause for each of the counts listed in the grand jury indictment
The paramedics also face assault counts related to “intentionally causing stupor, unconsciousness, or other physical or mental impairment or injury” for administering ketamine to Elijah without consent for a purpose other than lawful medical treatment.
If you recall, Elijah McClain died in 2019. The 23-year-old unarmed Black man was walking home, when he was stopped by the Aurora police. After being placed in a chokehold, he was injected with ketamine and suffered a heart attack.
Roomies, what do you think of this?
