Rest In Power Elijah McClain: A Complete Timeline Of Everyone Being Held Accountable In His Death

By Bilal G. Morris, NewsOne

The trial for two officers charged in connection to the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain starts as jury selection is set to begin Friday. 

Elijah McClain was killed in 2019 by Denver police after he was stopped, harassed, then restrained and injected with ketamine. His death regained the attention of the world after George Floyd was killed in 2020 by Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin. After Floyd’s death, millions of people called for Colorado officials to reopen the investigation into the death of Elijah McClain. 

In 2021, a Colorado grand jury ultimately indicted five police officers and paramedics on manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide as well as other charges. 

Aurora police officer Randy Roedema and former officer Jason Rosenblatt are the first defendants to stand trial. Both men pleaded not guilty to charges in January and according to a spokesperson for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, their trial is scheduled to last until Oct. 17. Roedema is currently suspended without pay, while Rosenblatt was fired for making light of a photo reenacting a neckhold, similar to the one used on Elijah McClain.

NewsOne details everything known about the case.

McClain’s case shares some similarities with Trayvon Martin’s.

We’ll keep our breaking news page updated as the trial progresses.