The prison sentence for one of the former paramedics who was convicted in 2019 death of Elijah McClain was removed from office by a Colorado district judge on Friday. Peter Cichuniec was found guilty Last year he was convicted of manslaughter and now only gets four years’ probation.
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In a motion to reduce his sentence, his attorneys wrote that Cichuniec is an “individual with no violent or criminal history … and poses no continuing danger to the public.” On Friday, the court ruled that reconsideration of the sentence is appropriate.
According to the Denver Post, Judge Mark Warner said during Friday’s hearing that he was throwing out the sentence due to “unusual and mitigating circumstances, which in this particular case are truly exceptional.”
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office also said the court’s ruling this week was due to “unusual circumstances” in Cichuniec’s case, but did not elaborate.
Cichuniec was a paramedic with Aurora Fire Rescue in 2019 when he responded to a confrontation with police involving McClain, a 23-year-old Black man. McClain, a massage therapist, had been walking home and police detained him after someone reported him as suspicious and the situation escalated to violence. After Cichuniec arrived, he and another paramedic injected McClain — who had been thrown to the ground, restrained and placed in a neck hold by officers — with ketamine. McClain went into cardiac arrest shortly afterward and died several days later.
Cichuniec was sentenced to 5 years in prison in March, which was the minimum possible sentence. Afterward, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser issued a statement saying, in part, that the sentence “sent a strong message that no profession, whether it’s a paramedic, a nurse, a police officer, an elected official or a CEO, should be immune from criminal prosecution for actions that break the law and harm people.”
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Following Friday’s decision, Weiser released a statement saying, “After considering the evidence, a statewide grand jury indicted Cichuniec and a jury of his peers found him guilty of his criminal acts that led to the death of Elijah McClain. We are disappointed that the court reduced his sentence today, but we respect the court’s decision.”
During his trial, Cichuniec testified that he was never warned during his training that ketamine could be fatal.
The International Association of Fire Fighters said the judge’s decision recognizes the challenges of making split-second decisions. In a statement, its president wrote: “While nothing can undo the tragic events of Mr. McClain’s death, the IAFF is relieved that the court has recognized the need for fairness and justice in this case.”
Aurora’s NAACP says its hearts go out to Elijah’s mother and that “the recent sentencing change is a reminder that the fight for Black Lives Matter continues. We thank the Colorado Attorney General’s Office for their courageous efforts to ensure that the individuals responsible for the murder of Elijah McClain were held accountable for their actions.”
Paramedic Jeremy Cooper was also found guilty of criminally negligent manslaughter and sentenced to four years probation. One of the police officers, Randy Roedema, was also convicted in the case of manslaughter by negligence and sentenced in January to 14 months in prison. Two other officers were acquitted.
As a result of the lengthy investigations that followed McClain’s death, the Aurora Police Department implemented major reforms. McClain’s death also led to rallies with protesters calling for social justice and a review of the practice of administering ketamine to patients showing signs of agitation.
