The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. December 5, 2023 Trial Opens of Two Paramedics Charged with Negligent Homicide in Death of Elijah McClain ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Aurora, Colorado, a trial is underway of two paramedics who face criminal charges over the 2021 death of Elijah Mc Clain. Police videos show Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec injected Mc Clain with the powerful sedative ketamine after police arrested him and placed him in a dangerous carotid hold as he was walking home from a grocery store. Mc Clain suffered a cardiac arrest within minutes of being injected and died days later. A pulmonary critical care specialist testified there was "no reason to give" Mc Clain ketamine. Prosecutors also accuse the paramedics of neglecting to assist Mc Clain after they drugged him and he lay dying on the ground. Meanwhile, Aurora police officer Nathan Woodyard, who was acquitted last month of homicide and manslaughter charges in Mc Clain's death, returned to work after a two-year suspension, receiving over $200,000 in back pay. .