The only police officer convicted in Elijah McClain’s death wants to convert the final 10 months of his work release jail sentence to in-home detention because he has a “constant fear of being attacked” while in jail.

In a court filing, Randy Roedema said that as a former law enforcement officer, he is the target of inmates. One in particular was an inmate while Roedema was a corrections officer in the Denver jail, according to his motion.

Roedema was the most senior of three Aurora officers who stopped Elijah McClain in August 2019 after a 911 caller referred to the 23-year-old as “sketchy.” Body camera footage showed he kept McClain face down while pinned on the ground instead of making sure he was on his side to breathe and, at one point, yanking on his arm. Footage also shows him slamming McClain’s torso into the ground after McClain said, “I can’t fix myself.”

Roedema was sentenced to 14 months of work release for a third-degree assault conviction. The sentence, which was handed down in January of this year, stipulated that he could work outside of the county jail during the day but must sleep there at night.

His attorneys state that in the two months that he has been sleeping in jail at night on work release, he has lost almost 30 pounds.

The former Aurora Police officer’s attorneys filed a motion to transfer him to In Home Detention (IHD) because the stress over worrying about being injured in jail has caused him to lose his appetite.

Because of his night-time incarceration, the document states, Roedema cannot attend in-person counseling sessions nor attend church services.

Further, Roedema was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after he was injured while serving as a Marine in Iraq in 2007, therefore his attorneys claim that his “mental health and psychological condition is not conducive for Work Release,” according to the motion filed Wednesday, May 29.

Roedema started serving his sentence on March 22.

During January’s sentencing hearing, Roedema’s attorney warned 17th Judicial District Judge Mark Warner that Roedema would likely become a target in jail. Reid Elkus reminded the court that George Floyd’s convicted killer, Derek Chauvin, was stabbed while behind bars.

Roedema has already served two months but will get credit for twice that amount of time because he receives one day for “good time served” for each day he is on work release. If he stays on work release, he is due to get out of jail after 7 months served on Oct. 22, 2024.

Prosecutors with the Attorney General’s office, which tried the case, filed a motion Monday opposing Roedema’s request for IHD stating that the court did not have the authority to respond to it. Roedema’s work release was a separate sentence on the third-degree assault charge, Phil Weiser’s office argued in court documents obtained by The Denver Gazette.

Roedema’s attorneys said that if he were given IHD, he would be required to serve the entire 14-month sentence because it does not allow “for good time.”

Warner, who oversaw Roedema’s trial, has yet to rule on the defense request.

Besides 14-months of work release, Warner also sentenced the former cop to four years probation for a criminally negligent homicide conviction — for which he could have been sentenced up to three years in prison.

Roedema was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

Jurors acquitted former officers Nathan Woodyard and Jason Rosenblatt of all charges in McClain’s death.

Warner sentenced Jeremy Cooper, a former Aurora Fire Rescue paramedic, to 14 months in a work release program, four years of probation and 100 hours of public service earlier this year. A jury had convicted him of criminally negligent homicide.

A jury found Peter Cichuniec guilty of second-degree assault for administering drugs to McClain without consent and acquitted him of second-degree assault with intent to cause bodily harm. He was sentenced to five years in prison in March.