Paramedics Found Guilty In Death Of Elijah McClain

Two Denver-area paramedics have been convicted for administering a fatal overdose of the sedative ketamine to Elijah McClain in 2019.

The case involving the death of the 23-year-old Black man was the first among several recent criminal prosecutions against medical first responders to reach trial. I Image: Lorie Schall Wikimedia Commons

The jury verdict, reported by Colleen Slevin and Matthew Brown for the Associated Press (AP), is seen by experts as potentially having a chilling effect on first responders around the country.

The case involving the death of the 23-year-old Black man was the first among several recent criminal prosecutions against medical first responders to reach trial, potentially establishing a precedent for prosecutors in future cases.

It was also the last of three trials against police and paramedics charged in the death of McClain, whose case initially received little attention until protests over the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

An Aurora police officer was convicted of homicide and third-degree assault earlier this year, while two officers were acquitted.

The jury found Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec guilty of criminally negligent homicide following a weeks-long trial. The jury also found Cichuniec guilty of one of two second-degree assault charges.

Cooper was found not guilty on the assault charges. They could face years in prison at sentencing.

The outcome has the potential to set a precedent for how emergency personnel respond to situations involving individuals in police custody, according to University of Miami criminologist Alex Piquero.

“Imagine if you’re a paramedic,” Piquero said. “They could be hesitant. They could say, ‘I’m not going to do anything’ or ‘I’m going to do less. I don’t want to be found guilty.’”

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