Officer acquitted in Elijah McClain death gets job back and $200,000 in back pay

Nathan Woodyard was suspended for two years until jury found him not guilty of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide

The Colorado officer who stopped Elijah McClain in 2019 and placed him in a neck hold was reinstated to the Aurora police department and will receive $200,000 in back pay, city officials said on Monday.

Nathan Woodyard's reintegration" into the police force comes weeks after a jury found him not guilty of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Woodyard had been suspended without pay for two years since he was indicted for his role in the death of the 23-year-old. An Aurora spokesperson said city law mandated that the department offer him his job back after his acquittal in the criminal trial, and that he would receive $212,546 to cover the salary from his leave.