A Colorado paramedic was sentenced Friday to five years in prison in an unusual case against a health care worker following the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was part of the social justice rallies that swept the United States in 2020. was sentenced.
In 2019, McClain was walking on a suburban street in Denver when police responded to a report of a suspicious person and forcibly restrained him and placed a hand on his neck. His last words — “I can’t breathe” — foreshadowed those of George Floyd in Minneapolis a year later.
Peter Cichniec and a fellow paramedic were found guilty in December of manslaughter for injecting McClain with ketamine. Ketamine is a powerful sedative that was ultimately blamed for killing the 23-year-old masseuse. Szczniec was also found guilty of the more serious charge of second-degree assault for administering drugs without consent or a legitimate medical purpose.
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McClain’s death and others have raised questions about the use of ketamine to subdue struggling suspects, and prosecutors have shocked emergency workers across the country.
McClain’s mother, Sheneen, raised her fist in the air as she left the courtroom following Friday’s verdict, as she has done after previous hearings.
In testimony before sentencing by Judge Mark Warner, Sheneen McClain said she once dreamed of becoming a firefighter and considered them heroes “until the day they took my son’s life.”
Paramedic Peter Cichniec awaits sentencing in Brighton, Colorado, on March 1, 2024. (Colorado State Court, AP, via POOL)
“You’re no longer a local hero,” she said as Mr. Cicuniec sat at a nearby table with his lawyers. “Next time, don’t follow the instructions of a bunch of cowards, think for yourself.”
She added that other paramedics “could have intervened by simply saying, ‘Stop hurting my patient.'”
Syczniec faces up to 16 years in prison for the assault charge, and five years in prison was the minimum sentence the judge could impose under sentencing guidelines. The second convicted paramedic, Jeremy Cooper, is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
Cicuniec, who has been in custody since his conviction, asked the judge for mercy. As his family and friends testified on his behalf, he wiped away tears and told the judge that he had dedicated his 18-year career as a firefighter and EMT to saving others. told.
“I’ve never stepped back from the phone and it’s happened to me more than I ever imagined,” he said. “I was disgusted when the prosecution said in their closing argument that I had shown no remorse toward Elijah. …I had no intention of harming Elijah McClain.”
As he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, Cicuniec turned around and waved, and a family member yelled, “We love you Pete.”
Before starting to cry, Szczniec’s wife said the sentence was the most lenient sentence her husband had ever received.
“It’s so much better to know,” Katie Cichniec said.
Before the hearing, Cicuniec’s supporters occupied part of the prosecution’s row of seats in the courtroom. Sheneen McClain came in and saw them and said, “Are you all supporting Elijah?” he quipped, and she put her hand on her chest.
Firefighters and their union officials harshly criticized the state’s charges against Ciczniec. They said this prevents firefighters from becoming paramedics and reduces the number of qualified personnel during emergencies, thereby putting lives at risk.
“Convicting Pete in his death is not justice. It’s the very definition of a scapegoat,” said former Aurora Fire Capt. John Roeder, who recently retired after working for Cicuniec for more than 20 years. “Will paramedics be held accountable for outcomes beyond their control?”
But Assistant Attorney General Jason Slotover said Mr. Szczynek did not follow his training and did not properly evaluate Mr. McClain before intentionally allowing him to administer more ketamine than necessary.
“Elijah was treated as a problem that could easily be solved with ketamine, rather than as a person who needed to be valued, talked to, and treated with respect and consideration,” he said.
Candace Bailey, a police reform advocate in Aurora, Colorado, said emergency workers who don’t live up to their oath to save lives should be held accountable.
“If you’re doing your job and living up to your oath, why should you have any conversations other than ‘thank you’?” said Bailey, whose maximum sentence for killing McClain was just five years. He said he was angry about it.
“There was no way any of them could have gotten away with it for 30 years,” she says.
McClain’s death initially attracted little attention, but it received renewed attention as large-scale protests erupted across the United States after Floyd’s death.
On August 24, 2019, police stopped McClain in the Denver suburb of Aurora after a 911 caller reported that he looked suspicious as he walked down the street wearing a mask and waving his arms. McClain, who was listening to music in his earphones, appeared to be caught off guard when the officer placed his hand on him within seconds of approaching him. A struggle ensued, with McClain having his neck pinned down and him being restrained, which lasted about 20 minutes before McClain was injected with 500 milligrams of ketamine.
He went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and was taken off life support three days later.
Experts testified that the sedative ultimately killed McClain. McClain was already weak and had trouble breathing as he was pinned down after inhaling vomit into his lungs during a struggle with police.
Prosecutors said emergency workers did not perform basic medical tests, such as checking McClain’s pulse, before administering ketamine. Experts say the doses were too high for someone of his stature, weighing 140 pounds. Prosecutors also said they did not monitor McClain immediately after giving him a sedative and left him lying on the ground, making it difficult for him to breathe.
This incident against paramedics was closely followed by firefighters and medical responders across the country. Edward Kelly, a fire union leader with the International Fire Protection Association, told reporters after Cicuniec’s sentencing that prosecutors are unfairly criminalizing split-second decisions by responders.
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The incident also highlighted gaps in medical protocols for sedating people in police custody, which experts said needed to be addressed to prevent further deaths.
“We didn’t realize how dangerous the restraints and chemical sedation of these people were,” said Eric Yeager, a New Hampshire paramedic and EMT educator. Told. “For better or worse, the people who have been convicted are drawing attention to this issue.”
The only police officer convicted in McClain’s death, Randy Rodema, was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide. He was sentenced in January to 14 months in prison. Two other officers charged were acquitted after weeks of jury trials.
