Fire Law Blog Fire Service and Public Safety Legal Issues Blog by Curt Varone
The Aurora, Colorado firefighter-medics who were facing criminal charges in the ketamine-related death of Elijah McClain, have been found guilty of negligent homicide. Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec were called to assist police officers who were struggling to subdue McClain on August 30, 2019.
McClain was injected with 500mg. of ketamine in an attempt to subdue him. He coded and despite efforts to resuscitate him, he died three days later. CBSNews quoted from a statement issued by McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain as saying:
- The firefighters/paramedics could have made a difference for Elijah to still be here and alive, but they chose wrong instead of right.
- If they had done the right things instead of following killer cop orders, then the killer cops would have been the only ones on trial, and I am sure they would have faced all of the blame alone with no one to cover up their crimes.
- Ketamine causes amnesia, so if Elijah had survived, he wouldn’t have remembered what happened to him.
