Elijah McClain case: Trial begins for 2 Aurora Fire paramedics, accused of giving McClain too much ketamine

Two paramedics are at the center of the third and final trial in the case of Elijah McClain’s 2019 death, and both defendants face charges of reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault, plus sentence enhancers.

McClain, 23, was stopped by officers with the Aurora Police Department (APD) on Aug. 24, 2019 and following a violent encounter, died a few days later.

Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are accused of injecting a significant amount of ketamine into McClain. Medical experts have previously testified that he was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for somebody of his size. In previous trials, prosecutors said the carotid hold, which was applied by police before paramedics arrived, played a key role in his death, while defense attorneys argued that the cause of death was only the ketamine, and McClain would have survived the police encounter without the injection. The ketamine led to cardiac arrest. McClain was declared brain dead and died Aug. 30, 2019.

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Previously, a jury found APD Officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, and former APD Officer Jason Rosenblatt, who was fired by the department less than a year after McClain’s death, was acquitted of all charges. In the second trial, defendant APD Officer Nathan Woodyard was also found not guilty.

The trial for Cichuniec and Cooper is expected to last about a month.

Scroll down to read updates from the Nov. 29 proceedings.

Wednesday, Nov. 29

In opening statements in the trial against Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper, the prosecution with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office painted a picture that both defendants violated protocols not only by administering ketamine to Elijah McClain but also deviated in training by not checking his medical condition, including vital signs, while in their care at the scene.

Prosecutor Shannon Stevenson said the first responders “failed him at every single step” and watched “their patient get weaker and weaker right in front of their eyes. Stevenson argued Cichuniec and Cooper injected McClain, with no medical purpose, an overdose of ketamine after McClain was already “barely moving and struggling to breath” while he was apprehended by Aurora police officers.

The fire paramedics were called to the scene that night by the Aurora police officers after McClain was put into two carotid holds by police, rendering him unconscious, in an attempt to restrain the 19-year-old.

Stevenson detailed McClain’s deteriorating condition during the struggle with Aurora police when the two paramedics arrived at the scene and before ketamine was administered stating that he was handcuffed on the ground, had vomited several times, had aspirated and breathed some of his own vomit back into his lungs.

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Stevenson said McClain was also suffering from acidosis, a buildup of carbon dioxide in his blood, and needed immediate medical treatment. Instead, the prosecution said the paramedics decided to give McClain the sedative at which point “he became almost completely nonresponsive” and was “sedated way beyond the point of anyone outside of a hospital.”

The prosecution said McClain was administered a 500 mg dose of ketamine, the maximum amount allowed without additional approval. McClain, who weighed around 140 pounds, was injected with a dose of the sedative appropriate for a 220 pound person, Prosecutor Stevenson said.

Describing their actions as “surely reckless”, Stevenson said both paramedics violated standards of care by not doing any assessment of McClain before injecting him with ketamine and by not monitoring his vital signs and condition for several minutes after the sedative was injected.

“The defendants acted with no regard to the risks to Elijah McClain. They didn’t speak one word to him or touch him with one finger,” said Stevenson. “They don’t ask the police a single question about Elijah McClain’s condition, don’t take a single piece of medical equipment out of the bag, don’t lean down to look at Elijah McClain.”

Stevenson presented to the jury, the Aurora Fire Rescue protocol paramedics are to follow when administering sedatives to someone who potentially poses a threat to themselves or someone else, showing signs of excited delirium. She said the protocol includes a full assessment of a patient and that both paramedics did not talk to McClain, that there was no physical exam or attention to his airway.

She questioned the need for a sedative since McClain was not seen on body camera video at that point “trying to hit someone, kick someone” and the most aggression seen from McClain was twisting “around to get into a position so that he can breath.”

Stevenson said the People will establish McClain was injected with a ketamine overdose while he was already “barely moving and struggling to breath” and that “the last thing he needs is to be sedated” and ultimately the defendants “failed every step of their training and protocols.”

The prosecution wrapped its opening statements Wednesday morning. The defense opening statements will be added and this story will be updated throughout the day.