{"id":132010,"date":"2026-06-05T13:10:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/what-to-know-about-new-trials-ordered-for-two-paramedics-in-the-death-of-elijah-mcclain\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:56:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:56:20","slug":"what-to-know-about-new-trials-ordered-for-two-paramedics-in-the-death-of-elijah-mcclain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/what-to-know-about-new-trials-ordered-for-two-paramedics-in-the-death-of-elijah-mcclain\/","title":{"rendered":"What to know about new trials ordered for two paramedics in the death of Elijah McClain"},"content":{"rendered":"

DENVER (AP) \u2014 A Colorado court has ordered new trials for two paramedics found guilty in the death of Elijah McClain<\/a>, almost seven years after the Black man was pinned down by police and injected with a fatal dose of ketamine.<\/p>\n

The rare homicide convictions of the two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics sent shock waves<\/a> through the ranks of first responders across the U.S. New trials would again train a spotlight on the use of ketamine to subdue struggling suspects<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Colorado’s attorney general has vowed to appeal Thursday’s reversal of the homicide verdicts to the state supreme court, which could delay any new trials. Here’s what to know:<\/p>\n

What happened at the crime scene<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper arrived at the scene after three police officers approached McClain, who had been listening to music on earbuds while walking home from a convenience store in the Denver suburb of Aurora in 2019. A 911 caller had said a Black man walking through the neighborhood was suspiciously waving his arms and seemed \u201csketchy.\u201d<\/p>\n

An officer put McClain in a neckhold and the paramedics injected him with ketamine before he suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital. The 23-year-old massage therapist was taken off life support three days later.<\/p>\n

McClain\u2019s death led many EMS agencies to limit or ban the use of ketamine as a way to subdue people deemed combative.<\/p>\n

The Colorado health department has since told paramedics not to give ketamine to people suspected of having a disputed condition that was invoked in McClain\u2019s case. \u201cExcited delirium\u201d was described in a since-withdrawn emergency physicians\u2019 report as manifesting symptoms including increased strength, but a doctors group has called it unscientific and rooted in racism.<\/p>\n

What happened at the paramedics’ trial<\/strong><\/p>\n

A jury found the paramedics guilty in late 2023 after a weekslong trial in which prosecutors argued Cichuniec and Cooper failed to do basic medical checks, such as taking McClain\u2019s pulse, before giving him the ketamine to help police subdue him.<\/p>\n

Experts testified the dose was too much for McClain\u2019s 140 pounds (64 kilograms). Prosecutors also argued the paramedics didn\u2019t monitor McClain immediately after giving him the drug.<\/p>\n

Cichuniec received a five-year sentence but was released early from prison in 2024 after a judge reduced his sentence to four years of probation. Cooper avoided prison and was sentenced to 14 months in jail with work release and probation.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld Cichuniec\u2019s assault conviction, but faulted the instructions given to jurors with respect to the criminally negligent homicide charges.<\/p>\n

Those instructions included discussion of the \u201cstandard of care\u201d paramedics must adhere to in situations such as when they encountered McClain, which, under Colorado\u2019s criminally negligent homicide law, is what a \u201creasonable person\u201d would do. The appellate judges said the trial judge erroneously refused to clarify the concept for jurors.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s ruling sends their cases back to a lower court for a new trial on those counts, pending Attorney General Phil Weiser’s planned appeal.<\/p>\n

A wound that has been \u2018never allowed to heal\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

McClain\u2019s death in 2019 foreshadowed the following year’s police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which set off protests across the U.S. and internationally.<\/p>\n

While Floyd\u2019s killing stirred criticism of police violence against unarmed Black men and policing policies for Black communities, McClain\u2019s death expanded that scrutiny to paramedics and firefighters working in the field.<\/p>\n

Activists say Wednesday\u2019s appeals court rulings keep Colorado\u2019s Black community from healing.<\/p>\n

One of the officers was convicted of homicide<\/a> and third degree assault in McClain\u2019s death, while two other officers were acquitted<\/a> on charges including homicide and manslaughter.<\/p>\n

The reversal of the paramedics\u2019 homicide convictions now reopens a wound that hasn’t fully healed in the years since McClain was killed, a Denver activist group, the Epitome of Black Excellence, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe who believe in freedom cannot rest until the killing of a black man, a Black mother\u2019s son, is the same as the killing of a white man, a white mother\u2019s son,\u201d said MiDian Shofner, CEO of the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership, at a news conference Friday. \u201cThis nation as of yesterday morning should be restless.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does this mean for first responders?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The paramedic’s 2023 trial delved into largely uncharted legal territory since it’s exceedingly rare for EMS providers to be charged criminally while providing care. Normally, that’s treated as a medical malpractice issue, which is civil.<\/p>\n

Firefighters and officials from their union sharply criticized the state\u2019s prosecution, saying it was putting lives at risk by discouraging firefighters from becoming paramedics and decreasing the number of qualified personnel in emergencies.<\/p>\n

Experts warned it also could make responders pause during critical moments when they have to make split-second decisions that can determine life or death.<\/p>\n

University of Miami criminologist Alex Piquero said he’s unaware of any analysis that would show whether paramedics have changed their behavior as a result of this case.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re always doing the best that they can do under the circumstances,\u201d Piquero said.<\/p>\n

But new trials could revive second guessing among first responders when dealing with patients in police custody, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we have to wait to see what that outcome is going to be. But I think this brings it back fresh: \u2018Oh, my gosh. Here we go again. Should I alter my behavior?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Brown reported from Billings, Montana and Gruver reported from Fort Collins, Colorado.<\/p>\n

\"FILE
FILE – Former paramedic Jeremy Cooper, who injected Elijah McClain with ketamine before his death, sits in court for sentencing, Friday, April 26, 2024, in the Brighton, Colo. (ABC News One\/Pool via AP, File)<\/span>(ABC News One\/Pool via AP, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"FILE
FILE – A demonstrator carries an image of Elijah McClain during a rally and march, June 27, 2020, in Aurora, Colo. Two paramedics were convicted Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, in the 2019 killing of McClain, who they injected with an overdose of the sedative ketamine after police put him in a neck hold. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski, File)<\/span>(AP Photo\/David Zalubowski, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"FILE
FILE – Lawyers console paramedic Peter Cichuniec after his sentence is read, March 1, 2024, in Brighton, Colo. (Colorado State Court via AP, Pool, File)<\/span>(Colorado State Court via AP, Pool, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(AP) \u2014 A Colorado court has ordered new trials for two paramedics found guilty in the death of Elijah McClain, almost seven years after the Black man was pinned down by police and injected with a fatal dose of ketamine. The rare homicide convictions of the two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics sent shock waves […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5734],"tags":[],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-132010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-associated-press"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132030,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132010\/revisions\/132030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132010"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=132010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}