health
Colorado Court of Appeals reverses convictions for former paramedics in Elijah McClain's death
Updated on: June 4, 2026 / 6:51 PM MDT / CBS Colorado
TL;DR
- The Colorado Court of Appeals overturned the criminally negligent homicide convictions for paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec in the death of Elijah McClain.
- The court ordered new trials for both paramedics on the charge of criminally negligent homicide.
- Cichuniec's conviction for second-degree assault-unlawful administration of drugs was affirmed.
- Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, died in 2019 after being stopped by police, forcibly restrained, and injected with ketamine by paramedics.
- A jury had convicted Cooper and Cichuniec of criminally negligent homicide in December 2023.
- The Colorado Attorney General's office intends to defend the convictions on appeal.
- Two other officers involved in the incident were acquitted, while one, Randy Roedema, was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and assault and has appealed his conviction.