2 Paramedics Found Guilty of Criminally Negligent Homicide in Elijah McClain’s Death 

On Friday, two Colorado paramedics were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.

In the final trial related to McClain’s death, paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

The conviction follows two previous trials involving police officers, resulting in one conviction and two acquittals.

According to reports, McClain, 23, was stopped by police, not accused of any crime, and died after a confrontation that included a chokehold and sedative injection.

In a statement Saturday, McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, said, “Three out of five convictions are not justice. The only thing the convictions serve is a very small acknowledgment of accountability in the justice system.”

Additionally, the jury found Cichuniec guilty of second-degree assault for administering the sedative.

After the convictions, Judge Mark Warner ordered Cichuniec into immediate custody while Cooper awaits a March 1 sentencing.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser stressed the need for ongoing efforts to prevent innocent deaths involving police and first responders.

“Elijah did nothing wrong. His life mattered. He should be with us here today,” Weiser said.

During the trial, Cooper and Cichuniec claimed they needed to use ketamine to calm McClain, citing police interference. Prosecutors argued that the paramedics violated protocols by not examining McClain before administering the maximum dose.

Prosecutors argued that paramedics wrongly diagnosed McClain with “excited delirium,” a controversial condition opposed by many medical experts, including the American Medical Association.

According to prosecutors, the paramedics misjudged McClain’s weight at 200 pounds instead of his actual 143 pounds, which they administered an incorrect 500 mg dose of the sedative.

“These defendants didn’t even try. When Elijah McClain pleaded ‘please help me,’ they left him there, they overdosed him on ketamine … they killed him,” said prosecutor Jason Slothouber.

The defense countered, asserting that the paramedics acted appropriately according to the training available in 2019.

“The relevant question is whether it was reasonable for these two gentlemen to believe that he was suffering from excited delirium, that he was acting consistent with what their training and their protocol told them was excited delirium,” said defense attorney David Goddard.

As of December 1, Colorado’s training board no longer teaches “excited delirium” as a diagnosis for new officers.

Currently, a pending bill seeks to ban it from police and EMS training and prevent coroners from listing it as a cause of death.