Colorado cop who placed Elijah McClain in a deadly chokehold is fired along with two of the three Aurora cops seen laughing in photos as they re-enacted his death at the site of his killing, a third officer resigned
Three Colorado are cops fired as investigations into the police killing of Elijah McClain escalates beyond Aurora police to include the state and FBI
The cops fired include the officer who placed McClain, a 23-year-old black man in a deadly chokehold
Elijah McClain a physical therapist was killed by three white policemen in Aurora, Colorado on August 24
The victim was placed in a deadly chokehold is fired along with two of three cops seen laughing in photos as they re-enacted his death at the site of his killing after the third resigned
He was walking home from a convenience store when someone called 911 to report that a man walking on the street ‘looked sketchy’ – three officers arrived on the scene
Jason Rosenblatt, Nathan Woodyard and Randy Roedema held McClain in a choke hold and McClain died
Rosenblatt applied the carotid chokehold – for fifteen minutes as McClain pled for his life.
The cops who tampered with their bodycams, joked while the 23-year-old asthmatic vomited, and threatened to set a dog on him for not lying still enough as he was dying.
Three other officers – Jaron Jones, Erica Marrero and Kyle Dittrich – posed for a ‘re-enactment’ photo at the spot of the killing just as police were dispersing activists holding a vigil for the slain physical therapist
Jones resigned on Thursday, while Marrero and Dittrich were fired on Friday for their part in the staged scene
Jason Rosenblatt did not participate in the staging of the photographs but was also fired on Friday for possessing them – Ironically Rosenblatt was not fired for his role in the killing, but rather for receiving the image and reacting with derision
The other two cops involved in McClain’s killing – Nathan Woodyard and Randy Roedema – remain on the Aurora police force
![Erica Marrer [left],Jaron Jones and Kyle Dittrich 1](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Erica-Marrer-leftJaron-Jones-and-Kyle-Dittrich-1.jpg?resize=620%2C343&ssl=1)
Colorado police officers Erica Marrero [left], and Kyle Dittrich were fired on Friday for appearing in the insensitive photo, which McClain’s family said was ‘a new low’ for the Aurora PD. Jaron Jones resigned from the Aurora police Dept on Thursday for staging the ‘re-enactment’ photo
One of the three Colorado policemen involved in the killing of Elijah McClain in August was fired on Friday, after receiving photos of officers fooling around and re-enacting McClain’s killing, which were shown to McClain’s family.
Jason Rosenblatt was fired on Friday for receiving the photo, to which he responded: ‘Ha ha ha”.
The day before another officer, Jaron Jones resigned from Aurora police for staging the disturbing images. His two co-workers, Erica Marrero and Kyle Dittrich, were fired on Friday for appearing in the photo.
The image shows Jones pretending to choke another officer, while Marrero and Dittrich look on and laugh.
The police union reacted with anger to Rosenblatt’s firing, saying he was only terminated for receiving the photos, which he had no part in making, and saying there had not been sufficient investigation.
McClain, 23, a massage therapist who loved animals and who taught himself to play the guitar and the violin, serenading animals to soothe them, died after police held him in a choke hold in August.
Elijah McClain, 23, was killed by three white police officers in Colorado – Peter Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema on August 24, 2019
![Nathan Woodyard [left], Jason Rosenblatt [center], and Randy Roedema [right] 1](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Nathan-Woodyard-left-Jason-Rosenblatt-center-and-Randy-Roedema-right-1.jpg?resize=620%2C296&ssl=1)
Blue wall: Officers Peter Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema, tampered with their cameras – tackled Elijah McClain with force, applied two carotid chokeholds – for fifteen minutes as he pled for his life. Still Aurora Police Dept have concluded that the three cops ‘had acted within acceptable policy and training’. The DA overseeing the case declined to press criminal charges against them
Elijah McClain, an asthmatic, was walking home from a convenience store in Aurora at 10:30pm on August 24, when someone called 911, to report that a man who ‘looked sketchy’ and was wearing a ski mask and waving his arms.
The police arrived and, after struggling to handcuff McClain, officers brought him to the ground and used a carotid hold, which restricts blood to the brain to render someone unconscious.
When medical responders arrived, after about 15 minutes, paramedics injected him with ketamine, a powerful sedative. He died on the way to hospital.
McClain’s family described the photos, taken some time last summer, as ‘a new low’.
‘Just when we thought the Aurora Police could not be any worse, they somehow find a new low,’ the McClain family said in a statement.
‘This is a department where officers tackled an innocent young black man for no reason, inflicted outrageous force – including two carotid chokeholds – for fifteen minutes as he pled for his life, joked when he vomited, and threatened to set a dog on him for not lying still enough as he was dying.
‘They tampered with their body cameras to hide the evidence. They exonerated the killers.
‘They deployed riot police and spewed pepper gas on peaceful protesters at a vigil of mourners playing the violin. And now this.’
Although authorities in Aurora have brought charges against any of the officers involved in the killing of McClain, Friday they confirmed the resignation of Jaron Jones following the emergence of the re-enactment photos of the killing, which he had staged with two of his colleagues. Jason Rosenblatt, one of the killer trio was eventually fired on Friday but only after his bone headed reaction to the reenactment photographs
![Erica Marrer [left],Jaron Jones and Kyle Dittrich 2](https://i0.wp.com/konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Erica-Marrer-leftJaron-Jones-and-Kyle-Dittrich-2.jpg?resize=620%2C666&ssl=1)
Tone deaf: The trio of Erica Marrero, Kyle Dittrich and Jaron Jones also took a smiling selfie after posing for the ‘re-enactment’ of McClain’s killing in Aurora, Colorado
Mike Coffman, mayor of Aurora, said the pictures were deeply troubling.
‘It really reopens wounds in our community,’ he said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the FBI also are looking into the photos to see if they should launch a civil rights investigation.
The three officers who attended the 911 call on August 24 – Nathan Woodyard, Rosenblatt and Randy Roedema – were placed on administrative leave, but they were all reinstated.
On Friday Aurora Police Association condemned the firing of Rosenblatt, without mentioning him by name. The APA said he had been denied due process.
The Aurora Police Association issued a statement on Friday condemning the firing of Jason Rosenblatt and saying he was denied fair process – Rosenblatt was not fired for his role in the killing, but rather for receiving the image.
District Attorney, Dave Young, said at the time that charges could not be brought against the three because a pathologist could not determine whether it was homicide.
McClain’s death generated renewed attention after the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis in May stirred worldwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality.
The governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, recently appointed the Attorney General, Phil Weiser, as a special prosecutor to look into McClain’s case.
In the audio, McClain tells the police he isn’t armed, and has no intention of hurting anyone, saying: ‘Why are you attacking me? I don’t even kill flies! I don’t eat meat! But I don’t judge people.’
Later, as the choke hold tightens, he says: ‘Oww – that really hurt. You are all very strong. Team work makes the dream work.’
He then begins crying.
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