Photo Courtesy Atlanta Black Star / X
It has been an emotional few years for the McClain family, precisely as multiple trials unfold regarding the 2019 killing of 23-year-old Elijah McClain. Although last month’s verdict with one Aurora police officer devastated supporters and family members, a Colorado jury’s verdict on Friday, Dec. 22, led to the conviction of the two paramedics responsible for his demise.
According to AP News, Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in state district court. While both men could face years in prison, Cichuniec’s sentence could be heftier due to the jury finding him guilty of one of two second-degree assault charges.
Following the verdict, McClain’s mother, Sheneen, emerged from the courthouse with her first raised, declaring, “We did it! We did it! We did it!”
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who outlawed medical examiners from making medical decisions in the blink of an eye and set “a dangerous, chilling precedent for pre-hospital care,” was also content with the jury’s verdict.
“We remain confident that bringing these cases forward was the right thing to do for justice for Elijah McClain and for healing in the Aurora community,” he told reporters outside the court.
The paramedics’ trial were the last of the three trials against the police and medics responsible for his death.
Cooper and Cichuniec were among the five officers who stopped the 23-year-old walking home from the convenience store on Aug. 24, 2019.
An officer tried it when he contended McClain reached for an officer’s gun, but prosecutors shut that argument down. As the officers pinned down the defenseless man, with one placing him in a chokehold, temporarily rendering him unconscious, Cooper injected him with an unwarranted amount of ketamine. Cichuniec, the senior officer, admitted to being the deciding factor for using ketamine.
Prosecutors found that Cooper lied to investigators about McClain resisting arrest despite the body-cam footage showing him unconscious.
Medical examiners determined that the complications with administering the 500 milligrams of ketamine were McClain’s cause of death.
McClain’s case has been a significant component of the 2020 Black Lives Matter Movement, driving the discussion on racial injustice and police brutality.