One of the two paramedics convicted for their role in Elijah McClain’s death has been sentenced to five years in prison.
In late December 2023, an Adams County jury found Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec guilty of criminally negligent homicide. Cichuniec was also found guilty of one second-degree assault charge related to unlawfully administering ketamine without consent. The judge also sentenced Cichuniec to a one-year concurrent sentence for criminally negligent homicide, followed by one year of parole.
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As we previously reported, McClain who was a 23-year-old black man died six days after he was stopped by police and forcibly restrained by Aurora police officers, then injected with an overdose of ketamine, a sedative, by paramedics. Attorney General Phil Weiser released a written statement following the sentencing of Cichuniec on Friday. “Emergency medical professionals serve honorably every day and save lives. In this case, Mr. Cichuniec disregarded his training and ordered Elijah McClain to receive a deadly dose of a powerful sedative while he was restrained and motionless on the ground, which killed him. A jury found the defendant guilty of criminally negligent homicide and second-degree assault,” the AG wrote.
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“No action will bring Elijah back or take away the pain and loss that his mother, Sheneen McClain, continues to experience,” the AG’s statement continued. “But today’s sentence from the court is one of accountability for the defendant’s criminal negligence in the death of Elijah McClain. It sends a strong message that no profession, whether a paramedic, a nurse, a police officer, an elected official, or a CEO should be immune from criminal prosecution for actions that violate the law and harm people.”