Paramedic convicted in Elijah McClain’s killing will be released from prison

Judge reduces sentence to four years of probation for Peter Cichuniec, who injected McClain with ketamine in 2019

A Colorado paramedic convicted in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man whose name became part of the rallying cries for social justice that swept the US in 2020, is being released from prison after a judge reduced his sentence to four years of probation on Friday.

Judge Mark Warner ruled that “unusual and extenuating circumstances” in the case justified reducing the five-year prison sentence for Peter Cichuniec, the Denver Post reported.

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Paramedic convicted over Elijah McClain killing sentenced to probation

Jeremy Cooper injected McClain, 23, with ketamine after police forcibly restrained him as he walked home in Denver in 2019

A former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with ketamine avoided prison and was sentenced to probation on Friday after his homicide conviction in the Black man’s death, which helped fuel the 2020 racial injustice protests.

Jeremy Cooper faced up to three years in prison. He administered a dose of the sedative to McClain, 23, who had been forcibly restrained after police stopped him as he was walking home in a Denver suburb in 2019.

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‘They felt no need to stop the brutality’: Colorado paramedic gets five-year prison term for killing Elijah McClain

Peter Cichuniec one of two paramedics convicted of criminally negligent homicide for role in 23-year-old’s death after police stop

A former Colorado paramedic has been sentenced to five years in prison in the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain after he was stopped by Aurora police.

Peter Cichuniec was one of two paramedics convicted of criminally negligent homicide for their roles in the 23-year-old’s death, which sparked years of protests and changes in the law. A jury also found Cichuniec guilty of second-degree assault. The outcome marks an extremely rare instance of a paramedic being found criminally liable and facing a prison sentence for a death in police custody.

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Ex-police officer sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing Elijah McClain in 2019

Randy Roedema, found guilty of criminally negligent homicide, is the first official to be sentenced in the 23-year-old’s killing

A former Colorado police officer convicted in the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain was sentenced to 14 months in county jail on Friday.

Randy Roedema, an ex-Aurora police department (APD) officer, was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault in October. He is the first official to face jail time for the killing of McClain, a 23-year-old whose death led to years of protests and calls for reforms.

This story was amended on 6 January 2024 to clarify that Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are paramedics, not EMTs.

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Elijah McClain: two Colorado paramedics convicted of criminally negligent homicide in 2019 killing

EMTs Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper injected 23-year-old with high dose of ketamine in a case that sparked mass protests

Two Colorado paramedics have been convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Elijah McClain after he was stopped by police in 2019.

The jury’s guilty verdicts on Friday for Aurora EMTs Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper mark an extraordinarily rare case of paramedics being found criminally liable for a civilian’s death in police custody and follow years of protests. Cichuniec was also found guilty of second-degree assault. Cooper was acquitted on the assault charges.

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Elijah McClain: officers to enter pleas to charges in death of Black man put in chokehold

23-year-old died after Colorado police put him in a chokehold and injected him with a large dose of the powerful sedative ketamine

A group of police officers and paramedics are scheduled on Friday to enter pleas in Colorado court to charges in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was put in a chokehold and injected with a powerful sedative two years ago in suburban Denver.

They were indicted by a state grand jury on manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and other charges in 2021.

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