Ex-Colorado Cop Who Killed Elijah McClain Gets 14 Months In Jail

Among the three officers charged in McClain’s 2019 death, Roedema was the only one found guilty.

DENVER (AP) — A former Colorado officer was sentenced Friday to 14 months in jail in the death of Elijah McClain, a young Black man who was stopped by police while walking home in 2019. McClain’s death helped galvanize racial justice protests the following year.

Colorado District Judge Mark Warner sentenced ex-Aurora police officer Randy Roedema to the jail time for a third-degree assault conviction, ordering that some of that time may be served as work release toward 200 hours — or five weeks — of community service.

The judge also sentenced Roedema to four years of probation on a conviction for negligent homicide.

Among the three officers charged in McClain’s 2019 death, Roedema was the only one found guilty. The judge had discretion to sentence Roedema to either probation or time in jail or prison.

McClain’s death became a rallying cry and received new attention amid the national reckoning on race and police brutality after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police.