Aurora Police Officer Nathan Woodyard, who was acquitted of all charges in the case of the death of Elijah McClain, has chosen to continue full-time duty with the police and will receive more than $200,000 in back pay, city officials said Tuesday.
McClain was suspended without pay after he was indicted in September 2021. He was acquitted on Nov. 6 of this year.
In accordance with Aurora's city charter, if a member of the Civil Service is restored to their position, they are owed back pay for the period of their suspension.
Right now Woodyard is on restricted duty, which means he is not in uniform and is not interacting with the public. Aurora city officials said he would go through a reintegration period, after which he would be assigned at the chief of police's discretion.
Woodyard was one of three Aurora police officers who responded to a 911 call and confronted 23-year-old McClain in the Denver suburb in 2019. The police pinned McClain to the ground while paramedics administered ketamine as a sedative. An autopsy later found complications from the sedation caused McClain's death.
