A jury in Colorado decided that two first responders, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec from Aurora Fire Rescue, are responsible for the death of Elijah McClain, a young Black man, who died in 2019 due to a fatal overdose of a sedative during his arrest.
The jury found the paramedics guilty of criminally negligent homicide. Both medical professionals were also charged with assault. Cichuniec was found guilty of one of the assault charges, second-degree assault for the unlawful administration of drugs, while Cooper was not found guilty of the assault charges.
The almost four-week-long trial is the last of all of the trials seeking to bring justice for McClain, who was 23 years old when he was killed.
The verdict delivered on Friday, Dec. 22, was good news to McClain’s mother’s ears.
Sheneen McClain exclaimed “We did it! We did it! We did it!” with her fist in the air as she left the courtroom, according to The Associated Press.
While the mother rejoiced in the victory, others said this opens the doors to criminalize split-second decisions made by first responders.
The International Association of Fire Fighters called the move by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser to charge the paramedics, “dangerous.”
“When politics drive prosecution — forcing firefighters and paramedics to second-guess decisions — public safety is compromised,” association president Edward Kelly said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, the paramedics failed to perform essential medical assessments on McClain, neglecting basic checks like taking his pulse before administering the ketamine.
Experts testified that the dosage was excessive for someone of his size — 140 pounds. Additionally, prosecutors assert that the paramedics did not monitor McClain promptly after administering the sedative; instead, they left him on the ground, exacerbating difficulties in breathing.
The defense lawyers for the two medical professionals argued…
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