Paramedic Convicted in Elijah McClain Case Released From Prison

Peter Cichuniec, an Aurora, Colo. paramedic with 18 years of service, was the lead paramedic on the ground on August 24, 2019, during a routine stop of a suspect by police. 

The suspect, 23-year-old Elijah McClain, was stopped by police as a result of a 911 call saying that a black man acting "sketchy" was walking down the street "waving his arms."

McClain was clean. He had no police record. Nevertheless, the cops tried to restrain the young man, eventually putting him in two separate chokeholds. Fifteen minutes after the police tried to restrain him, Cichuniec arrived on scene with his partner.

One of the cops told the paramedics that McClain was “acting crazy,” that he was “definitely on something,” and that he had attacked officers when they tried to restrain him. They also said that he had “incredible, crazy strength,” and that at one point three officers were on top of him.

None of that was true. But Cichuniec decided to sedate him anyway. Given that he believed McCalin was "on something" he gave him a dose of ketamine for a 190 lb man. McClain was 140 lbs.

McClain's heart stopped on the way to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Cichuniec was caught up in the hysteria that followed McCalin's death and was eventually convicted of criminally negligent homicide.

Now, a district court judge has reduced that sentence to four years probation.“The court finds, really, there are unusual and extenuating circumstances, and they are truly exceptional in this case,” the judge said in a hearing, according to The Denver Post,

“Pete Cichuniec did not belong behind bars,” Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters said in a statement. “We will always prioritize and advocate for the public’s safety and our members’ ability to do their jobs without fear of ill-conceived criminal prosecutions.”

Indeed, Cichuniec was misled by the police officers on the scene about the health and welfare of McClain. He was suffering from asthma and had thrown up twice while on the ground. And he was told the suspect was violent and demonstrated great strength. All of that made administering ketamine justified.

The dosage he administered was open for debate. But criminally negligent homicide? That's prosecutorial overreach.

New York Times:

Mr. McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, had been calling for justice for years. She said her son’s death had been avoidable and that all five police officers and paramedics were responsible. She declined to comment on the sentence reduction on Friday, though court filings from prosecutors noted that she had opposed the reduction.

Prosecutors had also objected, saying the reduction should not be applied in Mr. Cichuniec’s case because he had been convicted of a “particularly dangerous” form of second-degree assault, and because such a sentence reduction would undercut the jury’s decision.

“A sentence modification in this case will undermine the jury’s verdict,” prosecutors argued in a court filing in August, “the legislature’s mandatory sentencing scheme and the deterrence of the abuse of anesthetic drugs for improper purposes.”

Perhaps the jury's verdict should be undermined in this case. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death was “undetermined,” and that it could have been a result of natural causes, a homicide related to the carotid hold or an accident.

This was the most egregious outcome of the George Floyd-type prosecution. The police were in the wrong. But Mr. Cichuniec was caught up in the anti-police hysteria and should never have been charged.