A Colorado court found Aurora police officer Nathan Woodyard not guilty for recklessly contributing to the death of Elijah McClain, an unarmed black man who who died following a 2019 interaction with the cops.
The jury deliberated for one day before announcing the verdict, apparently buying Woodyard’s own defense of himself, which was that he did what he was trained to do during the encounter with McClain.
Prosecutors argued that Woodyard placed the 23-year-old in a carotid hold and failed to provide proper follow up care as the young man lay, detained, on the ground, unable to breathe.
A carotid hold is a police maneuver that cuts off blood flow to the brain, briefly causing unconsciousness.
Police Officer Nathan Woodyard became the second officer to be acquitted for his role in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain
Elijah McClain was fatally-injured while being arrested in Aurora, Colorado, in August 2019. He died days following the encounter with police
Woodyard said under oath that he trusted officers and paramedics to care for McClain as he (the officer) composed himself following the encounter.
He is the second officer in a number of weeks to be acquitted following a trial pertaining to the August 2019 death.
One officer, Randy Roedema, was convicted in October of criminally negligent homicide in McClain’s death.
The death of the introverted young man who was walking home from his job on the evening he was stopped by police, sparked statewide police reform that eventually led to a ban on carotid holds.
Content source – www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com
