AURORA, Colo. — Elijah McClain's mother Sheneen McClain said Thursday that she is "disappointed" after the split verdict in the trial of two officers charged in the 2021 death of her son.
“I’m disappointed because despite all the evidence in front of their face, they still played the race card," McClain said in an interview with 9NEWS anchor Alexandra Lewis after the verdict was read. "Right is right, and wrong is wrong. And when you continue to allow the type of injustice that happened to my son, there is so much to work on."
The jury convicted now-suspended officer Randy Roedema of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. He had faced a more serious charge of reckless manslaughter, but the jury convicted him of criminally negligent homicide instead, a lower-class felony that carries a lesser sentence. He's set to be sentenced on Jan. 5.
“No, it’s not enough," McClain said of the verdict. "Because Roedema wasn’t alone in what he did to my son. He had accomplices. He had buddies with badges that are all bullies. So it’s not a victory for me. This is not a victory for me at all. This is not a victory for the human race. This is not a victory for justice."
The same jury found now-fired officer Jason Rosenblatt not guilty of both counts he faced, which were reckless manslaughter and second-degree assault.
“This is not justice," McClain said. "This is a misuse of taxpayer money.”
The trial of Roedema and Rosenblatt, which took nearly three weeks, was the first of three trials in Elijah McClain's death. Jury selection begins Friday in the trial of suspended Aurora officer Nathan Woodyard. The trial for Aurora Fire Rescue lieutenant Peter Cichuniec and paramedic Jeremy Cooper is scheduled to begin in November.
"I have to be here," McClain said outside of the courtroom Thursday. "This is a part of my parental role, is to be here for my son, even in death. He’s always going to be my son.”
Verdict in the trial for 2 Aurora officers in Elijah McClain's death
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