June 4 - A Colorado appeals court on Thursday granted a retrial for two paramedics who had been convicted in connection with the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. The court's decision followed review of the criminally negligent homicide convictions of Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, overturning those verdicts on the basis of errors in the instructions given to jurors.
McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, was stopped by officers in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, after a report of suspicious behavior in 2019. During the encounter, officers placed him in a neck hold and paramedics Cooper and Cichuniec administered what prosecutors said was an excessive dose of the sedative ketamine. McClain later died.
The case has influenced policing policy in Colorado, contributing to reforms that included a ban on chokeholds. Cooper and Cichuniec had been found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in 2023, but the appeals court on Thursday reversed those specific convictions, citing faulty jury instructions. The court, however, sustained a separate conviction against Cichuniec for second-degree felony assault.
Sentencing outcomes from earlier proceedings remain part of the public record. Cooper received a 14-month term in a work-release program in 2024, along with four years of probation. Cichuniec was released early from prison in 2024 after a judge reduced his sentence to four years of probation. The appeals court action now requires that the criminally negligent homicide charges be retried in light of the procedural issues identified.
Attorneys for McClain's mother and for the two paramedics did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the appeals court ruling.
The broader legal proceedings tied to the case include mixed jury results for the officers involved. A jury returned split verdicts for three officers who faced charges: Randy Roedema was convicted of criminally negligent homicide; Jason Rosenblatt was acquitted of manslaughter and assault charges; and Nathan Woodyard was found not guilty of manslaughter.
The appeals court ruling changes the legal posture for Cooper and Cichuniec by removing their criminally negligent homicide convictions pending a new trial, while leaving intact at least one separate conviction in the record. How the retrial will be scheduled and what, if any, additional procedural adjustments will be ordered are matters for the trial court to determine.