Colorado Court of Appeals reverses convictions for former paramedics in Elijah McClain’s death

The Colorado Court of Appeals reversed the criminally negligent homicide convictions for the former paramedics in the death of Elijah McClain. The decision by the court states that both men will be remanded for a new trial on that charge, which was announced on Thursday morning. 

McClain was walking home in August 2019 when the 23-year-old Black man was confronted by police officers who forcibly restrained him and then the Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, injected him with ketamine. He went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance a few minutes later and died three days after that.  

After McClain died, the coroner’s office in Adams County initially couldn’t determine how he died, but after social justice protests drew attention to the case, a medical examiner ultimately found that he died from complications of ketamine following forcible restraint. That led to a 2021 indictment of three police officers and two paramedics.  

The case was prosecuted by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office in Adams County Court. 

Cooper and Cichuniec were both convicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide in December 2023.  

The Colorado Court of Appeals stated on Thursday that it affirms Cichuniec’s conviction for second-degree assault- unlawful administration of drugs. In September 2024, Cichuniec’s five-year prison sentence was vacated, and a judge reduced his sentence to probation.  

Cooper was sentenced to four years probation, 14 months work release and 100 hours of community service in April 2024.  

After the Colorado Court of Appeals vacated the convictions for Cooper and Cichuniec, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser issued this statement, “A jury convicted two paramedics for the death of Elijah McClain, an innocent Black man who did nothing wrong that tragic night seven years ago. Bringing these cases to trial was the right thing to do for justice, for Elijah McClain, and for healing in the Aurora community. The attorney general’s office is committed to defending these convictions through the appeals process. Justice demands it.”   

Three officers from the Aurora Police Department have been tried in connection with McClain’s death. In the fall of 2023, two of the officers were acquitted in Elijah’s death, and a third was found guilty. 

A jury found Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, while Jason Rosenblatt was found not guilty of manslaughter and assault in October 2023. A jury also found Nathan Woodyard not guilty of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in McClain’s death.

In January 2024, Roedema was sentenced to 14 months in jail along with four years of probation. He has filed an appeal and is asking the court to review nine different aspects of the case.

The City of Aurora agreed in 2021 to pay $15 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by McClain’s parents.