Only one cop will serve jail time and probation for his role in the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain.
Former Colorado police officer Randy Roedema was sentenced last week by a judge to spend 14 months in jail after he was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. He’ll serve out his time behind bars in a county facility rather than a state prison, as ordered by Judge Mark Warner.
Warner could have sentenced Roedema to up to three years for the felony homicide conviction, but his decision ultimately came down to what he perceived as Roedema’s “good character” and “rehabilitative potential.” He added that Warner “really wasn’t much of a threat to anybody” when McClain had been killed. So, Warner gave Roedema four years of probation for the felony and the 14-month jail sentence for the misdemeanor assault conviction.
“The court was shocked by what appeared to be, really, indifference to Elijah McClain’s suffering after he was clearly in custody and in handcuffs,” Judge Warner said during sentencing. “I think it’s important for folks to be aware, criminally negligent homicide is not considered a violent crime. And despite what folks’ opinions or my opinion might be about whether this was violent or not [that] doesn’t control [the law].”
After his sentence was publicized, many vocalized that they believed the judge was too lenient given the brutal circumstances surrounding McClain’s death.
McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, called Roedema’s sentence “a slap on the wrist.”
“Randy Roedema stole my son’s life. All the belated apologies in the world can’t remove my son’s blood from Randy Roedema’s hands,” she said. “This is not justice. This is not accountability. This is just a slap on the wrist. Because what happened to my son is murder.”
“This is absolutely BS… what a damn disgrace! If Elijah McClain were white… he would be alive today,” another X user wrote. “It’s a travesty that police officer & murderer Randy Roedema only got 14 mos in jail for killing Elijah McClain in Aurora, CO.,” someone else commented.
Roedema was one of three Aurora cops involved in what police called a “struggle” with McClain after they were called about a suspicious person in a ski mask on Aug. 24, 2019. They profiled McClain and approached him after he left a convenience store where he bought iced tea.
During the encounter, McClain was forced to the ground, handcuffed, and put in a neck hold that restricted oxygen flow to his brain and caused him to lose consciousness briefly. He even vomited into his ski mask as he was being restrained.
As he was being transported to the hospital, paramedics administered a 500-milligram dose of ketamine, a sedative used for pain. Only a few minutes after receiving that dose, McClain went into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing. A doctor declared him brain-dead three days later.
Those medics — Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec — were also found guilty of criminally negligent homicide last month. Cichuniec was also convicted of two assault charges. Cooper faces up to six years in prison, while Cichuniec faces up to 16 years.
They’re set to be sentenced on March 1.
Roedema will report to jail on March 22.
“I want the McClain family to know the sadness I feel about Elijah being gone,” Roedema said. “He was young.”
“I often think about what happened on that evening Elijah was taken to the hospital,” he said. “I cannot help but to contemplate all the different scenarios that could have taken place that evening that may have resulted in a different outcome.”
