A Colorado judge has decided to release the paramedic who received a five-year sentence for injecting Elijah McClain with an overdose of ketamine (a sedative) while he was in police custody in 2019. Judge Mark Warner overturned the sentence, ordering Aurora paramedic Peter Cichuniec to serve four years of probation instead.
The judge noted Cichuniec’s lack of criminal history, potential for rehabilitation, good character and “prior pro-social” history as he made the decision.
“The court finds, really, there are unusual and extenuating circumstances and they are truly exceptional in this particular case,” Warner said during a hearing, The Denver Post reported.
Cichuniec is one of the three people convicted on charges related to McClain’s death, but he was the only one sent to prison. In June, Cichuniec pleaded for a reduced sentence due to “unusual and exceptional” circumstances. Warner’s request was granted on Sept. 13.
The state law allows the court to “reduce the mandatory minimum prison sentence after Cichuniec” served at least 119 days in prison. In addition, an assessment from the Colorado Department of Corrections determined that Cichuniec was a high-risk inmate.
Prosecutors vehemently disagreed with the judge’s decision, saying: “A sentence modification in this case will undermine the jury’s verdict, the legislature’s mandatory sentencing scheme, and the deterrence of the abuse of anesthetic drugs for improper purposes.”
Cichuniec previously admitted that he and his colleague Jeremy Cooper overestimated McClain’s weight while administering the ketamine. As The Denver Post reported, “Cichuniec testified that he was concerned about giving McClain too little ketamine and didn’t think he had enough time to give a smaller dose, wait to see its effects, then call a doctor for permission to give more, as his training required.”
Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office, expressed his disappointment over the court’s latest decision.
“After considering the evidence, a statewide grand jury indicted Cichuniec, and a jury of his peers found him guilty for his criminal acts that led to the death of Elijah McClain,” Pacheco said, per The Denver Post. “We are disappointed the court reduced his sentence today, but we respect the decision.”
McClain, who didn’t commit any crimes on the night he died, was heading home after stopping at a convenience store wearing a ski mask when police confronted him.
