ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — Elijah McClain's mother Sheneen McClain said she is disappointed that a jury found officer Nathan Woodyard not guilty in the 2019 death of her son, but the verdict is what she expected.
An Adams County jury on Monday acquitted Woodyard of reckless manslaughter and of the lesser included charge of criminally negligent homicide.
Woodyard was the third officer tried in McClain's death. The first trial ended in a split verdict, with the jury acquitting Jason Rosenblatt of all charges and convicting Randy Roedema of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault.
"I’m disappointed, but it’s to be expected because of how the first trial went. This is their pattern, this is their practice and they are sticking to the way that they do things," McClain said in an interview with 9NEWS anchor Alexandra Lewis.
McClain stayed in the courtroom for a little longer after the verdict was read.
"I wanted to hit somebody," she said. "I wanted to kick something. I wanted to take out my vengeance on the ones that murdered my son, because there is no accountability within the justice system, and today proves it once again."
The trial of Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, the paramedics who responded to the call, is set to begin on Nov. 27. It's the third and final trial in connection with Elijah McClain's death.
“It’s just unfortunate that the people that stopped my son, brutalized my son, tortured my son, get away with murder, and that they’re passing on what they did to the medical professionals that still were supposed to do their job. Nobody did. So it’s just unfortunate that they’re placing the blame and passing the buck," McClain said.
9NEWS asked McClain if she has faith in the justice system.
"Hell no. I don’t have faith in this system at all. Because it lets us down – not just people of color, it lets down everybody. They don’t do the right thing," she said. "They always do the bare minimum. If what happened to my son happened in a neighborhood surrounded by people of the same color as him, they all would have been found guilty. And it’s just sad.”
“There is no progress," she said. "There is no progress in lies. There is no progress in injustice. There is no progress as full accountability is not seen. There’s no way this is progress."
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