Paramedic Convicted in Elijah McClain’s Death Has 5-Year Prison Sentence Converted to Probation

A paramedic convicted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain will not serve any additional time behind bars after an Adams County judge converted his prison sentence to probation.

Peter Cichuniec, who was found guilty of second-degree assault and criminally negligent manslaughter in McClain’s death, had initially been sentenced to five years in prison in March—essentially the minimum for his assault conviction. However, on Friday, Judge Mark Warner reduced his sentence to four years of probation.

Cichuniec had already served 70 days in prison.

A spokesman for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office confirmed the reduction.

“After considering the evidence, a statewide grand jury indicted Cichuniec, and a jury of his peers found him guilty for his criminal acts that led to the death of Elijah McClain,” said Attorney General Phil Weiser. “We are disappointed the court reduced his sentence today, but we respect the decision.”

Elijah McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, expressed her lack of surprise at the sentence reduction, pointing to broader systemic issues. “I’m not surprised at all,” she said. “The laws and how they are enforced in American states (+globally) are factual examples of why/how humans are so flawed. Plus, I’m sure the judge weighed the outcomes of the other participants involved in my son’s murder and felt he needed to be lenient today, as well. None of them have escaped divine judgements against them. I’m sure those sentences won’t be televised.”

The tragic encounter with McClain unfolded on August 24, 2019, when three Aurora Police officers—Nathan Woodyard, Randy Roedema, and Jason Rosenblatt—stopped him following a 911 call reporting a “suspicious” man wearing a ski mask. A physical confrontation ensued, and after McClain was accused of trying to grab an officer’s gun—an assertion that prosecutors have questioned—the officers placed him in a neck hold twice to render him unconscious. McClain vomited and aspirated some of it, leading to a series of medical complications, including severe oxygen deprivation and increased acidity in his body.

During the incident, McClain repeatedly told officers, “I can’t breathe.”

Paramedic Peter Cichuniec, the highest-ranking medical responder on the scene, approved a dose of ketamine, a powerful sedative, which was administered by another paramedic, Jeremy Cooper. Multiple medical experts later attributed McClain’s death to the effects of the ketamine.

Cichuniec was one of three first responders convicted in connection with McClain’s death and faced the most severe potential sentence because second-degree assault is classified as a crime of violence. With the conversion of his sentence to probation, Cichuniec will avoid further incarceration but remains under legal scrutiny.