DENVER (AP) — A Colorado paramedic was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for the death of Elijah McClain in a rare prosecution of medical responders that has left officials rethinking how they treat people in police custody.
The convictions of Peter Cichuniec and a fellow paramedic sent shock waves through the ranks of paramedics across the U.S. and thrust their profession into the acrimonious fight over social justice sparked by the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper were both convicted in December of criminally negligent homicide for administering the sedative ultimately blamed for killing McClain, a 23-year-old Black massage therapist, in 2019. Cichuniec was also convicted the more serious charge of second-degree assault for giving a drug without consent or a legitimate medical purpose.
McClain’s mother, Sheneen, raised her fist in the air as she left the courtroom following Friday’s sentencing, as she’s done after previous hearings. Cichuniec had faced up to 16 years in prison on the assault charge, and the five-year sentence was the minimum the judge could have given Cichuniec under sentencing guidelines.
Someone from Cichuniec’s family called out, “Love you Pete” as he looked back and waved at them before leaving court in handcuffs.
In testimony before the sentence was handed down by Judge Mark Warner, Sheneen McClain said she once dreamed of being a firefighter and considered them heroes “until the day they took my son’s life.”
“You are a local hero no more,” she said as Cichuniec sat with his attorneys at a nearby table. “Next time, think for yourself and do not follow the direction of a crowd of cowards.”
She added that the other paramedics could have intervened “simply by just saying, ‘Stop hurting my patient.’”
Cichuniec — who has been in custody since his conviction and was handcuffed and shackled for the hearing — asked the judge for mercy. He wiped away tears as…
Read the full article here
