Nathan Woodyard, one of three police officers indicted in connection with the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, returned to work at the Aurora Police Department and will receive more than $212,546 in back pay after he was acquitted earlier this month of all charges.
Woodyard asked to be reintegrated into the police department, which is allowed under the city charter, and he is undergoing training on policies and practices that have changed since he was suspended without pay in September 2021, Aurora spokesman Ryan Luby wrote in an email.
Woodyard, for now, is not wearing a uniform, will not have public contact and will not be allowed to enforce laws until he has finished the reintegration process, Luby said.
“The length of a reintegration period varies depending on the employee, the length of their extended absence and any other circumstances that may arise before or during that process,” Luby wrote. “Consequently, Mr. Woodyard would need to undergo reintegration for a period of time as numerous policies and practices at the Aurora Police Department have changed since he was placed on administrative leave without pay.”
Once Woodyard has completed reintegration he will be eligible for reassignment to a rank and duty position at the Chief Art Acevedo’s discretion. Woodyard was a patrol officer prior to his suspension.
Acevedo told Sentinel Colorado that it was “premature” to discuss any future assignment for Woodyard within the department. “I don’t think it’ll happen while I’m here,” he said. “He won’t be on patrol.”
Woodyard was on patrol on the night of Aug. 24, 2019, when someone called police to report McClain as a suspicious person. Woodyard was the first officer to make contact with McClain, who was walking home from a convenience store after buying iced tea.
Woodyard took McClain to the ground within eight seconds of getting out of his car and did not introduce himself or explain why he was stopping McClain. Two other officers, Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt, joined Woodyard in tackling McClain and violently restraining him.
Woodyard used a carotid neck hold on McClain after Roedema claimed the 23-year-old was reaching for an officer’s gun.
Roedema and Rosenblatt went to trial in October, with jurors delivering a split verdict. Roedema was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. Rosenblatt was found not guilty on all charges.
Roedema has not been sentenced. Rosenblatt was fired from the police department in July 2020 over photos of police officers mocking the carotid hold used on McClain. He has sued the city over his termination.
At Woodyard’s trial, prosecutors argued that the officer needlessly escalated the situation as they tried to convince a jury to convict him of manslaughter.
Woodyard, who testified in his own defense, said he put McClain in the neck hold because he feared for his life after he heard McClain say, “I intend to take my power back,” and another officer say, “He just grabbed your gun, dude.”
Prosecutors refuted that McClain ever tried to grab an officer’s gun, and that move cannot be seen in body camera footage played in court.
Defense attorneys also argued that McClain died because paramedics injected him with a lethal dose of the sedative ketamine to calm him down.
Opening statements in the trial for the two paramedics who administered the ketamine are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Adams County courthouse.
The graphic body camera footage of officers restraining McClain led to police protests in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
During those protests, people often repeated McClain’s final words: “I can’t breathe,” and “My name is Elijah McClain. I’m just different.”
McClain died on Aug. 30, 2019, after he was taken off life support. His parents received $15 million from Aurora to settle a lawsuit over his death.
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