Elijah McClain

Aug 24

Written By M T

23 years old · Aurora, Colorado · August 24 – 30, 2019

Who he was

Elijah Jovan McClain was born in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood. His mother, Sheneen McClain, moved the family to Aurora to get away from gang violence. He was homeschooled, the second oldest of six children, and described by everyone who knew him as gentle, curious, and entirely himself. As a teenager, he taught himself to play the guitar and violin. He cared deeply about animals, playing music for them at local shelters, and became a vegetarian. He spent his lunch breaks giving concerts to cats and dogs at animal shelters because he believed music would soothe their anxiety. He became a massage therapist at 18 — the only person in his family's known history to have achieved a career at such an early age. His clients became his friends. One of them said: "He had a child-like spirit. He lived in his own little world. He was never into fitting in. He just was who he was." Another said: "He was the sweetest, purest person I have ever met. He was definitely a light in a whole lot of darkness." His mother said a church bishop told her when Elijah was a few months old that he had healing hands and was destined to be a spiritual leader. He was teaching himself to draw and getting his finances together to attend art school. On the night of August 24, 2019, he walked to a convenience store near his apartment to buy an iced tea. He was wearing a ski mask because he had anemia and got cold easily. He was listening to music on his way home. He was unarmed.

What happened

On May 20, 2026, around 3:25 p.m., Berry Henderson was waiting for a bus near Hollywood Boulevard and Las Palmas Avenue when a dog began chasing and aggressively biting him. Surveillance footage from a nearby 7-Eleven captured him running across Hollywood Boulevard as the dog bit at his ankles. He pulled out a knife and stabbed the dog to defend himself. Moments later, a group of four men — including the dog's owner — rushed toward him. At least one was armed with a machete. The group chased Henderson, cornered him, and stabbed and beat him. He stumbled toward a wall, where a bystander called for help. He was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead. He suffered multiple stab wounds. His cousin Demeya Brewer said at the vigil: "My cousin was not the aggressor, my cousin was just here. He was running away. He was down on the ground."

Official ruling

At 10:32 p.m. on August 24, 2019, three officers from the Aurora Police Department — Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt, and Randy Roedema — responded to a 911 call about an individual in a face mask waving his arms. The caller said he looked "sketchy" but also acknowledged he did not believe anyone was in danger and that McClain appeared unarmed. Officers stopped McClain, who told them he was an introvert and asked them to respect his boundaries. Body camera footage captured him saying: "I'm an introvert, please respect the boundaries that I am speaking." He told the officers he was just going home and tried to explain himself. Officers attempted to detain him. A struggle ensued. One officer applied a carotid chokehold. Another said, "He just grabbed your gun, dude" — a claim disputed by the evidence. McClain vomited during the restraint and can be heard on body camera saying "I can't breathe" and "I'm going to die." He lost consciousness.

Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec arrived and injected McClain with 500mg of ketamine — nearly double the recommended dose for his body weight of approximately 143 pounds. He went into cardiac arrest and died six days later in the hospital on August 30, 2019. He was 23 years old. The independent report later commissioned by Aurora found the officers had no legal basis to stop, restrain, or frisk him.

Official record

The Adams County Coroner ruled McClain's death undetermined in November 2019, stating the cause could not be determined given the combination of the physical struggle, the chokehold, and the ketamine injection. The ruling was not homicide. The District Attorney at the time declined to press charges, stating officers had acted within their training. The case was closed.

It was only reopened in 2020 following national protests after George Floyd's murder — more than 2 million people signed a petition demanding a new investigation. Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed Attorney General Phil Weiser to reinvestigate. A report ordered by the city of Aurora, released in February 2021, found the police officers involved did not have the legal basis to stop, restrain, or frisk him. In September 2021, two years after his death, three officers and two paramedics were finally charged.

Contested record

The original decision not to charge anyone was itself the first failure. McClain was stopped for walking while Black — wearing a ski mask on a cold night, listening to music, bothering no one. The caller who reported him acknowledged he likely posed no threat. The independent city-commissioned report confirmed the stop was unlawful.

The ketamine protocol has been at the center of the contested record since the beginning. Aurora paramedics were administering ketamine to people in police custody at extraordinary rates — disproportionately to Black people — under a protocol that gave them significant discretion. The dose given to McClain was excessive for his body weight. The assault was prolonged, collective, and deliberate.

His mother Sheneen McClain has said from the beginning that her son was murdered. At Officer Roedema's sentencing she said: "I do not want any restitution from my son's murderer." She has continued to fight for full accountability through retrials and has called on Aurora to reform its use-of-force and ketamine protocols.

The partial accountability achieved — one officer convicted, two acquitted, two paramedic convictions now reversed on appeal — reflects a system that moved only under enormous public pressure and has still not fully reckoned with what happened.

Legal process

August 24, 2019 — Elijah McClain stopped by Aurora Police while walking home. Placed in carotid chokehold. Injected with 500mg ketamine by paramedics. Goes into cardiac arrest.

August 30, 2019 — Elijah McClain dies at hospital. He is 23 years old.

November 2019 — Adams County Coroner rules cause of death undetermined. District Attorney declines to charge officers or paramedics.

June–July 2020 — National protests following George Floyd's murder renew calls for justice. More than 2 million people sign petition demanding investigation. Violin vigils held across the country in Elijah's memory. Governor Polis appoints AG Weiser to reinvestigate.

February 2021 — Independent city-commissioned report finds officers had no legal basis to stop, restrain, or frisk McClain. Aurora agrees to $15 million civil settlement with McClain's family.

September 2021 — Officers Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt, and Randy Roedema and paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and assault.

September–October 2023 — Trial of Officers Roedema and Rosenblatt. Roedema convicted of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. Rosenblatt acquitted of all charges.

November 2023 — Trial of Officer Woodyard. Acquitted of all charges.

December 2023 — Trial of paramedics Cooper and Cichuniec. Both convicted of criminally negligent homicide.

January 2024 — Officer Roedema sentenced to 14 months jail with work release and four years probation.

2024 — Paramedic Cichuniec sentenced to five years in prison. Sentence later vacated and reduced to probation. Paramedic Cooper sentenced to probation, work release, and community service.

June 4, 2026 — Colorado Court of Appeals reverses criminally negligent homicide convictions of both paramedics Cooper and Cichuniec, ruling jurors were not properly instructed on the legal standard for criminal negligence. Both ordered to face retrial. Cichuniec's assault conviction upheld.

As of June 5, 2026 — Retrial of Cooper and Cichuniec pending. No trial date set. Officer Roedema remains the only Aurora Police officer convicted in connection with Elijah McClain's death. Two officers acquitted. Two officers never charged. Full accountability remains unresolved nearly seven years after his death.