Paramedic Jailed for Elijah McClain Death

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Facts

  • Peter Cichuniec, a Colorado paramedic, was on Friday sentenced to five years in prison for second degree assault after he was convicted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain — a 23-year-old Black man who died after being forcibly restrained by police and injected with a powerful sedative1
  • Cichuniec was one of two paramedics found guilty of criminally negligent homicide for administering a fatal dose of ketamine to McClain. In addition to the five years for assault, he was also given a one-year sentence for the homicide charge, to be served concurrently. He was further sentenced to three years of probation.2
  • The prosecution had alleged that Cichuniec and his associate, Jeremy Cooper, had failed to perform basic medical checks on McClain — who was stopped by Aurora police officers while walking home after a 911 call described him as 'sketchy' — before giving him the maximum dose of ketamine.3
  • However, the defense argued that the duo had followed their paramedical training after concluding McClain had 'excited delirium' or extreme agitation, adding the prosecution couldn't prove that the cause of McClain's death was ketamine.4
  • While Cooper is scheduled to be sentenced in April, Randy Roedema, one of the five police officers prosecuted in state district court in three separate trials, has been sentenced to 14 months in a county jail.5

Sources: 1Reuters, 2CBS, 3BBC News, 4FOX News and 5New York Times.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by CNN. This verdict sets an example in public safety and sends a strong message that no matter the profession, no one complicit in police brutality is immune from criminal prosecution. McClain was administered an overdose of ketamine in an encounter that should have never happened in the first place. While paramedics are largely protected from liability while treating people in emergencies, this unparalleled trial shows they will be held accountable for callously disregarding the life of an innocent man.
  • Right narrative, as provided by jems. What happened to McClain is a tragedy, but it's wrong to punish the paramedic for making a split-second decision to subdue and calm a suspect, with no intent to hurt him. It's unfair to hold Cichuniec responsible or sacrifice medical discretion in the hunt for accountability in McClain's death. Convicting a paramedic isn't justice. It's the very definition of a scapegoat. This could have a chilling effect on first responders and give paramedics pause when rendering aid in their line of duty.