Closing arguments are scheduled to commence Tuesday (Oct. 10) in the trial of two Colorado police officers involved in the death of Elijah McClain.

McClain died on Aug. 30, 2019, six days after a violent encounter with officers and paramedics who injected him with ketamine, a strong sedative.

CNN reports that the two officers, Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt, have pleaded not guilty to reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault causing serious bodily injury in connection with McClain’s death.

During opening statements of the trial that began in September, the prosecution team argued that Roedema and Rosenblatt deployed two carotid holds (neck restraints) that qualified as excessive force against McClain. Also, the officers failed to check McClain’s vital signs after he repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.”

Prosecutor Jonathan Bunge told the jury that McClain was innocent and was targeted by the defendants.

“You will hear no evidence in this case, none, that Elijah McClain did something criminal that night (or) that he was about to engage in criminal activity. He was just walking home,” Bunge said. “The defendants grabbed Elijah McClain, merely because he looked, to them, suspicious.”

Dr. Robert Mitchell Jr., a forensic pathologist who reviewed McClain’s autopsy, testified that the cause of death was “complications following acute ketamine administration during violent subdual and restraint by law enforcement, emergency response personnel.” He also noted a  “direct causal link” between the officers’ actions and McClain’s death.

According to the defense team, the carotid holds deployed by the officers were necessary because McClain was resisting and would not comply with their commands. The defendant’s lawyers also stated that there was no legitimate evidence that the officers restraining McClain caused his death. The defense argued that McClain died because the paramedics injected him with a dose of ketamine too large for his size.

Dr. David Beuther, a pulmonary critical care physician, testified that McClain would not have died if the paramedics had intervened correctly.

In 2020, the police department terminated Rosenblatt while Roedema remains suspended. McClain’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Aurora and the police department, which the city settled for $15 million.

Meanwhile, a separate trial of Nathan Woodyard, the first officer who confronted McClain, is scheduled for Friday (Oct. 13), local station KUSA reports.

According to the report, the trial will have the same judge, prosecutors, eyewitnesses, expert testimonies, and much of the evidence as Roedema and Rosenblatt’s joint trial.

Woodyard faces one charge of reckless manslaughter. If found guilty, Woodyard could face up to 6 years imprisonment.