AURORA, Colo. — A now-former Aurora police officer is due in court Friday to be sentenced for his role in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.
In October, an Adams County jury convicted Randy Roedema of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault for his actions in McClain’s death.
Roedema was among five first responders indicted in the case.
He could face a sentence that ranges anywhere from probation up to six years in state prison.
“Weighing heavily in Roedema’s favor is the absence of any prior criminal history – and the fact that he, at least in theory, dedicated his life to law enforcement until this incident,” 9NEWS legal analyst Scott Robinson said. “On the other hand, there's going to be a strong, strong push from the prosecution for jail time, if not prison time.”
Robinson said it’s also possible Adams County District Judge Mark Warner could hand down a sentence that mixes some of the options together. For instance, he could put Roedema on probation but include time in the county jail as part of that.
Robinson also said that sentences for criminally negligent homicide vary widely.
“There really is no data that supports a typical sentence for criminally negligent homicide,” he said. “Every case differs based on the facts that resulted in the death of the victim.”
Roedema and fellow officers Nathan Woodyard and Jason Rosenblatt stopped, restrained and subdued McClain in August 2019 after a 911 caller reported he was wearing a ski mask and seemed “sketchy.” That struggle intensified after Roedema alleged that McClain tried to grab Rosenblatt’s gun – an assertion that prosecutors repeatedly questioned during the trial.
Multiple medical experts testified that the struggle with police – which included two attempts by officers to subdue him with a neck hold that cuts off oxygen to the brain – left McClain in a vulnerable state. Besides experiencing low levels of oxygen in his body, he vomited and inhaled some of it – exacerbating that situation. And he suffered a spike in acid in his bloodstream.
He said repeatedly that he could not breathe.
Then two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics, Lt. Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper, injected McClain with an overdose of the sedative ketamine, which those same experts blamed for ultimately causing his death.
Interim Aurora Police Chief Art Acevedo fired Roedema after his conviction.
Rosenblatt, who was acquitted of the charges against him, had previously been fired for responding “ha ha” to a photo other officers took mocking McClain. Woodyard was also acquitted and has begun the process of returning to the police force.
Cooper and Cichuniec were both found guilty of criminally negligent homicide. The jury found Cooper not guilty of second-degree assault with intent to cause bodily harm and not guilty of second-degree assault for administering drugs without consent. The jury found Cichuniec guilty of second-degree assault for administering drugs without consent and acquitted him of second-degree assault with intent to cause bodily harm.
Cichuniec faces a sentence ranging from probation to 16 years in prison. Cooper is also eligible for probation but could be sentenced to as much as six years behind bars.
They are scheduled to be sentenced March 1.
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