An officer from Colorado has been found responsible for the death of Elijah McClain, who was restrained and subsequently injected with ketamine by a medic, resulting in his demise.

In a unanimous decision, a jury convicted Officer Randy Roedema of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, while another officer, Jason Rosenblatt, who faced the same charges, was acquitted.

Both individuals were accused of employing excessive force and disregarding the pleas of the unarmed African-American man, who repeatedly stated, "I can't breathe."

By Colorado law, Roedema now faces potential imprisonment and fines. He was suspended without pay from the Aurora Police Department, while Mr. Rosenblatt was terminated in 2020.

Following 16 hours of deliberation over two days, a 12-member jury delivered its verdict on Thursday. This trial is the first of three related to Mr. McClain's tragic death.

On August 24, 2019, Mr. McClain, a 23-year-old autistic massage therapist, was on his way home from a local store when he was confronted by three white police officers, responding to an emergency call reporting a suspicious individual in the Denver suburb of Aurora.
He was wearing a balaclava, which his family has said protected him from chronic chills due to his anemia.

Listening to music on his headphones, he had initially ignored officers' calls for him to stop walking.

Body camera footage of the incident showed him pleading with officers that he did nothing wrong before they wrestled him to the ground and placed him in a chokehold.

Seven times, Mr McClain was heard telling the officers: "I can't breathe" - the same refrain uttered by George Floyd as he was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2020.

After officers called for assistance, a medic injected Mr McClain with ketamine to sedate him.

Mr McClain went limp, stopped breathing, and never regained consciousness. He was declared brain-dead three days later.

A key focus of the two officers' weekslong trial was how Mr McClain died.

In their closing arguments, prosecutors said Roedema and Mr Rosenblatt "chose force at every opportunity" instead of de-escalating the situation, counter to their training.

Meanwhile, lawyers for the officers argued they had no choice but to forcefully subdue him after he resisted them.

They also argued that it was the ketamine that killed Mr McClain and that the paramedics were responsible for his death.

An autopsy report in September 2022 concluded that he had died from "complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint".

In a statement on social media after Thursday's verdict, Aurora Police Department Chief Art Acevedo said: "We respect the verdict handed by the jury."

Mr McClain was declared dead on 27 August 2019, but his death faced renewed scrutiny after Mr Floyd's murder.

Several others have also been charged with his death, including a third officer, Nathan Woodyard, and medics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec.

All three have pleaded not guilty. They will be tried in two separate cases later this year.

Roedema is scheduled to be sentenced in January.