A Colorado court sentenced a paramedic to five years in prison on Friday for his involvement in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a young Black man who died following a police altercation and sedation by medics.
Jurors convicted emergency medical worker Peter Cichuniec, 51, of criminally negligent homicide and assault in the second degree in a rare trial involving paramedics.
Judge Mark Warner imposed a five-year prison term for the assault charge and an additional one-year sentence for criminally negligent homicide, to be served concurrently. Cichuniec faced a maximum sentence of 16 years for these offenses.
Cichuniec’s partner, Jeremy Cooper, 49, was also found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and awaits sentencing in April.
The trial was the last of three stemming from McClain’s death. McClain, 23, was stopped by police in Aurora, near Denver, on August 24, 2019, after a 911 call reported him as acting suspiciously. Police restrained McClain, who later died after being injected with ketamine.
While the original autopsy labeled McClain’s cause of death as “undetermined,” a revised report concluded it was due to “complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint.”
The case gained renewed attention after the killing of George Floyd in May 2020, prompting Governor Jared Polis to call for further investigation. A state grand jury indicted the officers and paramedics in 2021.
During sentencing, Cichuniec expressed remorse for McClain’s death but did not accept full responsibility. McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, spoke, criticizing the officers and medics, stating her son’s death was entirely preventable.
