LOS ANGELES: Considered one of two paramedics who injected a younger Black man with ketamine as he was put in a chokehold by US police was jailed for 5 years on Friday.
Peter Cichuniec had been convicted in December of criminally negligent murder and illegal administration of medication over the dying of Elijah McClain, an unarmed 23-year-old who died a number of days after a battle with police in Colorado.
He had suffered a cardiac arrest within the ambulance within the moments after his forceful arrest.
The episode unfolded in August 2019 when police within the metropolis of Aurora responded to reviews of a “suspicious” Black male “appearing bizarre” on the street and sporting a ski masks.
McClain’s household later informed media he had been out shopping for iced tea, and sometimes wore the masks to remain heat as a result of he suffered from anemia.
One officer stated McClain, who was unarmed, had reached for an additional officer’s gun. No proof was produced to assist this declare.
They grappled with him and whereas they have been restraining him Cichuniec and fellow paramedic Jeremy Cooper injected him with ketamine.
Through the trial, the paramedics’ legal professionals argued that their shoppers had merely adopted protocol in administering a drug authorized in Colorado for individuals in an “agitated state.”
Prosecutors countered they’d ignored their coaching in dealing with distressed sufferers.
Forward of his sentencing on Friday, Cichuniec stated he was “actually sorry” to Sheheen McClain for the lack of her son’s life.
“I want I may inform Ms. McClain that Elijah was going to be okay,” he stated, in response to CBS Information. “However I can not.”
“We won’t save everybody. I want my thoughts may overlook the issues my eyes have seen during the last 18 years,” he continued. “Elijah will at all times be on my thoughts, together with all of the others.”
McClain’s dying occurred months earlier than the killing of one other Black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis in Might 2020, however drew renewed consideration quickly after as protests towards police brutality swelled.
A celeb-backed marketing campaign led to a particular investigation during which three cops have been finally indicted, together with the 2 paramedics.
Two of the cops have been acquitted, whereas the third was jailed in January for 14 months.
Cooper, the opposite paramedic who was convicted alongside Cichuniec in December, is ready to be sentenced in April.
Peter Cichuniec had been convicted in December of criminally negligent murder and illegal administration of medication over the dying of Elijah McClain, an unarmed 23-year-old who died a number of days after a battle with police in Colorado.
He had suffered a cardiac arrest within the ambulance within the moments after his forceful arrest.
The episode unfolded in August 2019 when police within the metropolis of Aurora responded to reviews of a “suspicious” Black male “appearing bizarre” on the street and sporting a ski masks.
McClain’s household later informed media he had been out shopping for iced tea, and sometimes wore the masks to remain heat as a result of he suffered from anemia.
One officer stated McClain, who was unarmed, had reached for an additional officer’s gun. No proof was produced to assist this declare.
They grappled with him and whereas they have been restraining him Cichuniec and fellow paramedic Jeremy Cooper injected him with ketamine.
Through the trial, the paramedics’ legal professionals argued that their shoppers had merely adopted protocol in administering a drug authorized in Colorado for individuals in an “agitated state.”
Prosecutors countered they’d ignored their coaching in dealing with distressed sufferers.
Forward of his sentencing on Friday, Cichuniec stated he was “actually sorry” to Sheheen McClain for the lack of her son’s life.
“I want I may inform Ms. McClain that Elijah was going to be okay,” he stated, in response to CBS Information. “However I can not.”
“We won’t save everybody. I want my thoughts may overlook the issues my eyes have seen during the last 18 years,” he continued. “Elijah will at all times be on my thoughts, together with all of the others.”
McClain’s dying occurred months earlier than the killing of one other Black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis in Might 2020, however drew renewed consideration quickly after as protests towards police brutality swelled.
A celeb-backed marketing campaign led to a particular investigation during which three cops have been finally indicted, together with the 2 paramedics.
Two of the cops have been acquitted, whereas the third was jailed in January for 14 months.
Cooper, the opposite paramedic who was convicted alongside Cichuniec in December, is ready to be sentenced in April.
