Ex-cop gets 14 months in jail in death of Elijah McClain, whose mom calls him ‘bully with a badge’

By Colleen SlevinThe Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A judge sentenced an ex-Colorado police officer to 14 months in jail for his role in the death of Elijah McClain after hearing the young Black man’s mother on Jan. 5 call the officer a “bully with a badge” who will always have blood on his hands. The officer, Randy Roedema, was the first and most senior law enforcement member on the scene of McClain’s death and the only one found guilty. A jury convicted him in October of criminally negligent homicide, which is a felony, and third-degree assault, which is a misdemeanor. The 23-year-old’s killing on Aug. 24, 2019, received little attention at the time but gained renewed interest the following year as mass protests swept the nation over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. McClain’s death became a rallying cry for critics of racial injustice in policing. In a separate trial, two paramedics were recently convicted for injecting McClain with an overdose of the sedative ketamine after police put him in a neck hold. Sentencing for the paramedics will come later this year. Before Judge Mark Warner handed down the sentence, McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, raged against Roedema...