2nd police officer acquitted in death of Elijah McClain, who was put in a neck hold, given ketamine

BRIGHTON, Colo. — Elijah McClain’s mother wiped tears from her eyes as a verdict was read Monday acquitting a second Denver-area police officer in the 2019 death of her son.

Two of three officers to face trial so far avoided prison time after being found not guilty, leaving Sheneen McClain and police reform advocates still searching for justice.

Elijah McClain’s death fueled national outrage about racial injustice in policing after the 23-year-old Black man was put in a neck hold and injected with an overdose of ketamine after police stopped him as he walked home from a convenience store.

In the most recent trial, a 12-person jury found Aurora officer Nathan Woodyard, who put McClain in the neck hold, not guilty of homicide and manslaughter following a weekslong trial in state district court. He faced years in prison if convicted.

Sheneen McClain sat in the front row of the courtroom and left with a fist raised high, just as she did after the first trial last month against two other officers. She declined to comment, but a supporter who accompanied her called the verdict “pathetic” and a sign that the justice system was not changing.

“Her son should be alive, and everybody claims to agree with that, but for some reason we can’t hold to account the people that took that away,” said MiDian Holmes, an activist who befriended Sheneen McClain after they met at a 2020 protest. “I think she understands and she recognizes that if she can feel, she can fight. This fight is not over for Sheneen McClain. She is going to turn this pain into promise and into progress.”

A third officer was convicted in the earlier trial of the lesser charges he faced — negligent homicide and third-degree assault. Two paramedics from the Aurora fire department are awaiting trial later this month.

Woodyard declined to comment following his acquittal. Defense lawyer Megan Downing said, “We believe it was the right verdict, not an easy one.”