In a significant legal development, a Colorado court has overturned the homicide convictions of two paramedics involved in the 2019 ketamine overdose death of Elijah McClain. The court decision, announced on a Thursday, mandates new trials for Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, who had served with Aurora Fire Rescue.
Elijah McClain, a Black man and massage therapist, died following an encounter with police who were responding to a complaint about a suspicious person. He was stopped and forcibly restrained by the officers as he walked home from a convenience store.
In 2023, a jury found both Cooper and Cichuniec guilty of criminally negligent homicide after a trial that spanned several weeks in a state district court. Cooper was sentenced to 14 months in jail with work release and probation, avoiding a prison sentence. Cichuniec faced a tougher sentence due to an additional charge of felony assault, which the appeals court has upheld.
The appeals court identified issues with the jury instructions regarding the criminally negligent homicide charges that influenced the jury’s deliberations. This procedural error led to the decision to order new trials for the paramedics.