The Colorado officer who stopped Elijah McClain in 2019 and placed him in a neck hold was reinstated to the Aurora police department and will receive $200,000 in back pay, city officials said on Monday.
Nathan Woodyard’s “reintegration” into the police force comes weeks after a jury found him not guilty of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Woodyard had been suspended without pay for two years since he was indicted for his role in the death of the 23-year-old. An Aurora spokesperson said city law mandated that the department offer him his job back after his acquittal in the criminal trial, and that he would receive $212,546 to cover the salary from his leave.
The killing of McClain, who became unconscious as he was held down by multiple officers and then was injected with a dangerously high dose of ketamine, sparked national outrage and years of protests. McClain was a massage therapist and animal lover who had taught himself to play violin.
Woodyard, one of three officers who have faced prosecution, is returning to his job despite playing a pivotal role in the initial stop of McClain and using force tactics that the local coroner’s office has ruled contributed to his death.
“[Woodyard] has elected to reintegrate with the APD and is currently on Restricted Duty (not in uniform, no public contact, and no enforcement actions) pending next steps in the reintegration process,” a city spokesperson, Ryan Luby, said in an email, adding that Aurora’s city charter dictates that officers who face felony charges must be immediately suspended without pay until the case is resolved, and reinstated if they are acquitted.
On 24 August 2019, McClain was walking home from buying iced tea at a convenience store and listening to music on headphones when a driver passing by called police, reporting that McClain “looks sketchy” and “might be a good person or a bad person”. McClain was wearing a ski mask, which he used to keep warm due to being anemic.
Although the 911 caller made clear that he did not see any weapons and that he was not in danger, nor was anyone else, police quickly responded with extreme force.
Woodyard was the first to confront McClain, body-camera footage showed, immediately grabbing him and shouting: “I have a right to stop you because you’re being suspicious.” Two other police officers, Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt, soon arrived and with Woodyard surrounded him. McClain responded: “I’m an introvert. Please respect the boundaries that I’m speaking … I’m going home.”
The three forced McClain to the ground and placed him in a neck hold, while putting their combined body weight on top of him. McClain said “I can’t breathe” at least seven times. He vomited and lost and regained consciousness. The officers claimed that McClain, who was 5ft 7in and 140lbs , had “incredible strength” and falsely alleged he was “on something”. Paramedics who arrived injected him with 500mg of ketamine, a sedative. McClain then suffered a heart attack and never awoke.
McClain’s final words included pleas to the officers, saying: “I’m so sorry. I have no gun. I don’t do that stuff. I don’t do any fighting … I don’t even kill flies! I don’t eat meat … I respect all life … Forgive me! All I was trying to do was become better.”
In the immediate aftermath, local officials claimed his cause of death could not be determined and that no charges would be filed, but after significant backlash, the coroner released a revised autopsy with the cause of death listed as “complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint”. An independent investigation also determined police had no legal basis to stop McClain.
Woodyard took the stand in his trial and said he put McClain in a neck hold because he feared for his life. He cited the fact that during the initial struggle, Roedema had shouted “He just grabbed your gun” but there was no evidence McClain ever made contact with any of the officers’ weapons. Woodyard also cited the fact that McClain had said “I intend to take my power back” as he explained that he was listening to music and begged the officers to let him go.
Any officer who has been on an “extended absence” is “subject to reintegration to bring them up to speed on changes to workplace practices and policies”, said Luby, the city spokesperson, adding that Woodyard would need to be trained on policies that have changed since his suspension in September 2021. “Upon successful completion of the reintegration process and after accounting for any other circumstances that may arise, Mr Woodyard would be eligible for reassignment to a position within the department at the chief’s discretion.”
Woodyard’s attorney declined to comment on Tuesday.
In a separate October trial, Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. Rosenblatt was found not guilty in that case, but he was fired in 2020 when a release of text messages revealed that three officers sent him a joking selfie recreating the chokehold of McClain, and he replied: “ha ha.”
Two paramedics, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, are also facing trial, charged with manslaughter and assault.
Woodyard is one of several officers across the country who have returned to the police force after being removed due to high-profile killings. The officer in Cleveland, Ohio, who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014 got a new police job last year, but then left the position days after he started.
