Aurora police officers can’t diagnose anyone’s medical condition, but they’re expected to call paramedics if they believe there’s any chance a person they’ve made contact with is having a medical emergency, according to a trainer in the department.

The jury for two Aurora officers on trial for Elijah McClain’s 2019 death heard from Sgt. Kevin Smyth, the Aurora Police Department’s training supervisor. He did not give any opinions about the actions of the officers on trial, but testified Thursday about training officers receive for when medical emergencies arise.

“When in doubt, call them out,” Smyth said.

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He said officers go through training for recognizing signs of someone in respiratory distress or respiratory arrest, which they have to complete both as new officers and on an ongoing basis. One slide, showed by prosecutors from a training presentation, said respiratory distress or arrest is a medical emergency.

If someone shows signs of those conditions, that means officers should call paramedics and provide first aid as needed, Smyth said. He added the person making any complaint about breathing should be taken seriously and treated as a possible sign they are suffering from respiratory failure.

And the notion that if a person can talk, that means they can breathe is a “myth,” Smyth said.

“It can actually create a (circumstance) where an officer is blind to certain situations if they believe this is true.”

Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt each face charges of assault, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for McClain’s death. The case accuses them of stopping him the night of Aug. 24, 2019 as McClain walked home from a convenience store, taking him to the ground and putting him in a type of neck hold meant to temporarily restrict blood flow to a person’s brain. 

A paramedic called to the scene injected McClain with 500 milligrams of the sedative ketamine. Shortly after, he went into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing. He died in a hospital a few days later after being declared brain dead.

McClain, a Black man, was 23 at the time.

Roedema and Rosenblatt are accused of ignoring McClain’s pleas that he could not breathe while pinned on the ground. A previous witness called by the attorney general’s office, pulmonary physician David Beuther, said he believes McClain’s struggle with officers caused him to labor increasingly to breathe, deteriorating over the course of the encounter as he struggled to get enough oxygen and inhaled his own vomit.

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On cross-examination, the officers’ attorneys asked Smyth about when responsibility for a person in their custody passes to paramedics. Smyth said officers should communicate as accurate of information as they have about the person’s condition, but when paramedics arrive, they assume responsibility for medical care. 

The officers’ defense attorneys have previously argued the ketamine injection alone caused McClain’s death, and that the officers did not have authority over the decision to administer it. 

Once paramedics arrive, the officers’ role is to maintain safety of the scene and work with paramedics to facilitate their ability to help the person, Smyth said, such as holding them still or making sure the person doesn’t pose a threat to the paramedics.

“But not to second-guess their medical role?” asked Donald Sisson, one of Roedema’s attorneys. 

“Correct,” Smyth said.

Along with Officer Nathan Woodyard, Roedema and Rosenblatt had responded to a 911 call reporting a suspicious person walking down the street. Defense attorneys for the two officers on trial say McClain violently resisted them.

Woodyard also faces charges for McClain’s death and has a trial set for October.

Elijah McClain already at risk of death before ketamine injection, physician says