PBS News / Nation / Associated Press | 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.
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Firefighters and officials from their union have criticized the state’s prosecution of Cichuniec and said it was discouraging firefighters from becoming paramedics, decreasing the number of qualified personnel in emergencies and thereby putting lives at risk.
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McClain’s death received little attention initially but gained renewed interest as mass protests swept the nation in 2020, with his name becoming a rallying cry for critics of racial injustice in policing.
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Read the rest of the story here:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/paramedic-gets-5-years-in-prison-for-elijah-mcclains-death-in-rare-case-against-medical-responders
Photo: Elijah
Paramedic Gets 5 Years in Prison for Elijah McClain’s Death in Rare Case Against Medical Responders
