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Judge wipes away 5-year prison sentence for Aurora paramedic in Elijah McClain’s death

Adams County judge cites “truly exceptional” circumstances in converting Peter Cichuniec’s prison sentence to probation.
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An Adams County District Court judge on Friday wiped away the 5-year prison sentence for a former Aurora paramedic convicted in the death of Elijah McClain.

Judge Mark Warner vacated Peter Cichuniec’s prison term and converted the sentence to four years of probation.

“The court finds really there are unusual and extenuating circumstances and they are truly exceptional in this particular case,” Warner said.

Cichuniec, 51, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and assault by drugging in the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who died after Aurora police put him in a neck hold and a paramedic injected him with an overdose of the sedative ketamine. Cichuniec was supervising the paramedic who injected the drug.

Read the full story from our media partners at The Denver Post.

Elijah McClain’s mom to convicted paramedic: “You are a local hero no more”