AURORA, Colo. — The Colorado Court of Appeals reversed the homicide convictions of two former Aurora paramedics in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, ruling Thursday that the case should be retried in district court.
The court ruled that former Aurora paramedic Peter Cichuniec's 2023 conviction on the charge of criminally negligent homicide must be reversed and sent back to a lower court for a possible retrial. His conviction on a charge of second-degree assault by unlawful administration of drugs — for which he was sentenced to four years’ probation in September 2024 — remains in place.
The appeals court also reversed the homicide conviction of former Aurora paramedic Jeremy Cooper, ruling his case should also sent back to a lower court for a possible retrial. He was acquitted on the second-degree assault charge in 2023.
Cichuniec and Cooper were convicted in late December 2023 of criminally negligent homicide in the killing of McClain. The 23-year-old unarmed Black man died after Aurora police put him in a neck hold and Cooper injected him with too much of the sedative ketamine. Cichuniec was supervising Cooper when he injected the drug.
Cichuniec and Cooper would later separately appeal their convictions.
The appeals court agreed Thursday with Cooper’s appeal that the district court erred by refusing to clarify the standard of care applicable to the charge of criminally negligent homicide after the jury told the court they didn't know what standard to apply and asked for a definition.
"By telling the jurors to apply the 'common and ordinary meanings' of the words in the instruction, the court failed to shine any light on the issue and in fact misled the jurors as to the applicable standard of care: The proper standard wasn’t that of a generic reasonable person but of a person in Cooper’s profession under the existing circumstances," the Cooper judgment reads.
Because the appeals court agreed with the Cooper analysis, Thursday’s judgment reads there wasn’t a basis for treating Cichuniec differently.
“The two were tried on identical theories of guilt and the evidence against them was, while not identical, sufficiently similar that we can’t conclude that the errors were harmless as to Cichuniec,” the Cichuniec judgment reads.
▶️WATCH: Both Aurora Fire paramedics on trial for the death of Elijah McClain took the stand in their defense in December 2023. Watch our report on their testimony from that day in the video below:
Cooper and Cichuniec — along with three Aurora police officers — were indicted by a grand jury in September 2021, more than two years after McClain died and about a year after his death garnered attention in the wake of George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020.
Former Aurora police officer Randy Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault while former Aurora police officer Jason Rosenblatt was acquitted of all charges in a joint trial that lasted nearly a month. Nathan Woodyard, the third officer indicted in the case, was also acquitted of all charges following his trial.
▶️WATCH: Sheneen McClain, Elijah McClain's mother, delivered an emotional victim impact testimony ahead of an officers' conviction in January 2024.
In response to Thursday's ruling, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser defended his office's decision to send both cases to trial, saying in a statement to Denver7 that it was "the right thing to do for justice, for Elijah McClain, and for healing in the Aurora community."
Through a spokesperson, Weiser said his office will appeal Thursday's ruling.
"A jury convicted two paramedics for the death of Elijah McClain, an innocent Black man who did nothing wrong that tragic night seven years ago. Bringing these cases to trial was the right thing to do for justice, for Elijah McClain, and for healing in the Aurora community. The attorney general's office is committed to defending these convictions through the appeals process. Justice demands it." — Phil Weiser
Darcy Kofol, a former assistant district attorney in Colorado, also spoke with Denver7 about the ruling.
"I commend the court of appeals for their very thorough and insightful ruling," Kofol said.
Kofol explained what the reversal means going forward.
"What came back was that the jury instruction was wrong, and whether a jury will find them guilty again of the criminal negligent charges with the new instruction or not will be up to a new jury if it does go to a retrial," Kofol said.
As for what is next, Kofol says the clock is ticking for Wesier's office.
"They can file a certain position in the Supreme Court, that's due in 42 days if no rehearing is granted, and then again, if no rehearing or cert petition is granted, the case will be remanded back to the district court," Kofol explained.
Denver7 reached out to attorneys for both Cichuniec and Cooper about the decision and next steps. Neither responded.
Community leaders say decision "reopens a wound Colorado never allowed to heal"
News of Thursday's ruling quickly reached advocates, who were on the frontlines trying to seek justice since McClain encountered police in August 2019.
In a statement Thursday, the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership, a nonprofit organization the decision by state court "will reverberate far beyond a courtroom."
"The reversal of convictions connected to the death of Elijah McClain is not merely a legal development. For Black communities across Colorado and throughout this nation, it is the reopening of a wound that has never fully healed," a spokesperson for the organization wrote. "It is a reminder that even when evidence is seen, even when harm is acknowledged, even when the world bears witness to tragedy, accountability remains painfully fragile."
▶️WATCH: Community leaders respond to Thursday's ruling
MiDian Shofner, its CEO, said Thursday's ruling is disappointing and "one of the most divisive judicial decisions our state has experienced in recent memory because it strikes at the heart of a question that Colorado continues to struggle to answer. When a Black life is taken under circumstances that shock the conscience of the public, what does accountability truly mean?"
Shofner also said she expected Weiser to fight the decision fiercely.
"What will you do in this case, because we expect that you defend this all the way through, and if you do not, you are complicit in the horror of asking this family to relive this trauma," Shofner said.
Shofner also reflected on what the reversal means for McClain's family.
"When you think about the story of Elijah McClain's death post the conviction, it tells a very horrific story," Shofner said. "What exactly will be presented to a jury to make a different decision? We have the facts, we have the evidence. Sheneen McLain doesn't have her son."
A spokesperson for the organization said they had already gotten in contact with the McClain family and would be holding a community news conference in response to the ruling on Friday at 10 a.m.
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