In the death of Elijah McClain, a jury in the western state of Colorado found Aurora police officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminal negligent murder.
The unarmed young Black man’s death four years ago drew global attention, sparking large-scale protests and improvements in Aurora’s police force.
Randy Roedema was convicted guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault by the jury.
A second officer, Jason Rosenblatt, was acquitted of all charges against him, including reckless manslaughter and assault.
The jury reached a verdict after deliberating for 16 hours over three days.
The 23-year-old died after police received a report of a suspicious person wandering down the street. When they arrived near Colfax Avenue and Billings Street on August 24, 2019, they spotted McClain wearing a mask and carrying goods.
A grand jury indicted Jason Rosenblatt, Randy Roedema, and another cop for forcibly restraining McClain during a violent battle captured on police body cam video. They face felony counts of criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter, and second-degree assault, but the jury had the option of convicting them on lesser charges, which they did in the instance of Roedema, who was found guilty of third-degree assault.
Sentencing for Roedema is scheduled for Jan. 5 at 1:30 p.m. in Adams County Court.
Sheneen McClain, Elijah McClain’s mother, told CNN affiliate KUSA after the verdict, “This is not justice.” She said Roedema’s guilty verdict is “not enough,” adding the officer was not acting alone in what led to her son’s death.
“This is not a victory for me at all. This is not a victory for the human race. This is not justice,” Sheneen McClain told KUSA. “They have an eternal judgment that they have yet to see. And no matter how they try to clean up their slate, they still have my son’s blood on their hands.”