A medical expert testifying for the defense of two paramedics accused of causing 23-year-old Elijah McClain‘s death said he doesn’t believe the ketamine dose the pair gave McClain contributed to his death.
The defense started presenting their case last week for Aurora Fire Department paramedics Jeremy Cooper, and Lt. Peter Cichuniec, who was charged with reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and three counts each of second-degree assault in connection to McClain’s death.
They’re being tried to determine if the injection of ketamine they gave McClain three years ago following a struggle with Aurora police that sent him to the hospital ultimately killed him.
During an encounter with three police officers on Aug. 24, 2019, McClain was forced to the ground, handcuffed, and put in a neck hold that restricted oxygen flow to his brain and caused him to lose consciousness briefly. He even vomited into his ski mask as he was being restrained. He was returning from a convenience store that night buying iced tea when someone called police about a “suspicious person” in a ski mask.
During his transport to the hospital, the medics decided to administer a 500-milligram dose of ketamine, a sedative used for anesthetizing pain. However, they never asked or consulted McClain about the dose, and he ended up going into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing just a few minutes after receiving it. A doctor declared him brain-dead three days later.
According to the Denver Gazette, Kennon Heard, an emergency physician and toxicologist at UCHealth, pointed to Aurora paramedic protocols that indicate that 500 milligrams of ketamine were more than what McClain’s body weight called for. That dose would have been more appropriate for someone who weighs roughly 80 pounds more than McClain.
However, Heard also said respiratory arrest is a rare and extreme possible side effect of ketamine and concluded that McClain’s death was…
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