When it comes to putting a name to Chicago's annual battle against its infamously inclement weather, it turns out that the practical is also the political.

Abolish ICE was the top vote-getter in the city's You Name a Snowplow contest. Choosing the protest slogan with a double meaning proved a potent way for voters to jab at President Donald Trump after he sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into the city and its suburbs last fall in a major immigration crackdown.

With a surge of ICE agents beginning in September, Operation Midway Blitz resulted in more than 4,000 arrests, a fatal shooting and a sour taste among Chicago's Democratic leaders and many of its residents, particularly in large immigrant populations. Despite mid-winter frigid cold, ICE Out protests in recent weeks have continued downtown, near ICE facilities and throughout the suburbs.

The snowplow contest, in its fourth year, also produced names ranging from those paying tribute to the new pope, who hails from Chicago, to a homegrown horror purveyor and the popular quarterback of the city's NFL franchise.

In a statement, Mayor Brandon Johnson thanked Chicago voters for their unmatched creativity, sense of humor, and civic pride."

When asked whether he was reticent about the potentially prickly response to the name, a spokesperson said that Abolish ICE was the runaway winner, adding, The people of Chicago clearly have no issue with the name of this snowplow."

Requests for comment were also emailed to ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security.

Contests in many cities produce names of snowplows, but they rarely carry the edge of Chicago's top pick. In Nashville, Dolly Plowton pays homage to Tennessee native and country music legend Dolly Parton, while in Minnesota, pop superstar Taylor Swift is honored on a plow dubbed Taylor Drift.

Chicagoans are capable of more anodyne names, too. Other winning contest names include Stephen Coldbert," for late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert. There's Pope Frio XIV, with the Spanish word for cold rhyming with the Chicago-born pontiff's name, Leo.

Then there's the Blizzard of Oz and Svencoolie, a play on the Chicago TV horror host, Svengoolie; and finally, Caleb Chilliams for the quarterback whose last name is Williams, and who led the Bears to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

Johnson said he and his Department of Streets and Sanitation, which maintains 300 trucks to clear 9,400 miles (15,000 kilometers) of streets, are grateful and inspired by the record-breaking participation in the contest this year." There were 13,300 plow names submitted and 39,000 final votes were cast.

The contest was conducted the same way as it was in the past three years, said Ryan Gage, spokesperson for the Streets and Sanitation department. Submissions are made to the Chicago Shovels website. A survey app is used for both initial and final phases of the contest.

A group of Streets and Sanitation staff members then reviews all the submissions and chooses the finalists, which are then forwarded to the mayor's office for final approval, Gage said.

___

O'Connor reported from Springfield, Ill.

A recent social media campaign created by the U.S. Department of Labor is garnering a lot of criticism not only for its similarities to post-war era government propaganda, but for a narrow depiction of American workers.

Launched in September, Project Firewall is a crackdown on abuse of the H-1B visa program. On social media, the Department of Labor has turned to a particular Norman Rockwell-like style to promote hiring American citizens over foreign workers.

Each image is of almost exclusively white males, with headlines like "Build your Homeland's Future" and "Americans First."

One post features an actual Norman Rockwell painting, Freedom of Speech, from 1943. The Department of Labor headline above the artwork is: American Jobs should go to American Workers.

The posts have garnered thousands of comments, with many of them calling the agency out for using artificial intelligence to generate images instead of hiring artists to create the images in the first place.

Looks like a Soviet train station mural, Carol Fairbank commented on one of the posts.

All Americans, or just certain ones? Jennifer Johnson Edwards remarked.

For perspective on the issue, Denver7 anchor Jessica Porter spoke with University of Denver Professor Ana Babi Rosario, who studies nostalgia marketing. She said these types of images can be powerful and efficient.

It's been used for a very long time to shape cultural narratives, and it is particularly effective when there are times of uncertainty, like the ones that we're living through right now," Rosario said. "People are looking for those emotional cues to times that might have been better objectively or just in a perceived way, because that provides comfort in the present moment."

She said the images are not just about looking back, but about shaping who we want to be. Its part of what she calls a larger movement to reinterpret classic American imagery.

We've been seeing this over the last 15 years with memes, when people, organizations, brands, groups, all take bits and pieces of something that is visually familiar to people and give it new meaning, Rosario said.

On the Department of Labors social media pages, there is only one post from this nostalgic imagery campaign that features a woman and a person of color.

Overall, the images fail to depict the actual demographics of the American workforce then and, particularly, now.

According to 2024 federal labor data, 47% of workers are women, 20% are Hispanic or Latino, 13% are Black, and 7% are Asian.

In an opinion piece in USA Today, Norman Rockwells family were critical of the Trump administrations unauthorized use of the artists work on the Department of Homeland Securitys social media page saying, If Norman Rockwell were alive today, he would be devastated to see that his own work has been marshalled for the cause of persecution toward immigrant communities and people of color.

In response to the backlash on social media about their social media campaign, the Department of Labor told

, Twisting social media posts celebrating American workers and the American Dream into a race story is absurd.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah The sister of Ian Stasko, one of two hunters who died in a lightning strike in the Colorado wilderness, has plenty of memories of her brother, which she shared with Scripps News Group Salt Lake City this week.

"The river we'd go fishing at every time he'd ring up rope swings from countless trees," Dylan Stasko said. "Within the two miles we live in, (he would) go find snowy hills to go sledding on. It was like everything was truly an adventure with him."

Stasko lived in Salt Lake City and loved the outdoors and exploring, and was curious and kind.

"He was always looking for the best in people and the next thing to do," Dylan said about her brother.

A little over two weeks ago, Ian and his best friend, 25-year-old Andrew Porter of Asheville, North Carolina, set out on an elk hunting trip in the Trujillo Meadows Reservoir area of Colorado, close to the New Mexico border. His family said the duo planned well and had all the right gear, plus a communication plan with Andrew's fiance.

"If there was no ping in 24 hours, they were going to start a search party, essentially," Dylan explained.

That's exactly what happened two weeks ago when Dylan and her mother, Michelle Sirch, traveled to Colorado to help search after no one had heard from either Ian or Andrew.

"It was terrifying," Michelle said. "But I wasn't prepared when I drove up and saw the [police] tape, and all the cars. I kind of lost it there. It definitely felt more real."

A few days later, Ian's family received the worst possible news.

"It was kind of clear as soon as we got up there that he had not made it," Sirch said.

Crews found the men's car at the Rio De Los Pinos trailhead, and their bodies about two miles from there. Earlier this week, a coroner determined their cause of death as a lightning strike.

"I think a relief and also a frustration," Dylan said about learning of her brother's death. "A bit... just kind of like... Why it had to happen... A lot of relief that there's nothing that we or they could have done differently."

Watch Scripps News Group Salt Lake City's interview with Ian's family in their report below.

Weather in the backcountry can change quickly and is always a danger.

"Typically, what we see in the summertime, on those thunderstorm days, we'll see those white, bubbly clouds build up over the mountains that kind of look like cauliflower. That's the first sign that the atmosphere might be favorable to thunderstorms on a particular day," explained National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Desmet. "And if you see those clouds turning darker, that's a good sign that conditions are favorable for thunderstorms, and certainly when you hear that thunder, then it's time to take action and get to a safe place."

Utah State Parks officials told Scripps News Group Salt Lake City that they recommend making sure you have a plan in place if things get dangerous in the wilderness.

"Along your route, know the spots, have them marked off on your map, of hey, this is the closest high ground, this is the closest cover, this is the most exposed area, I want to make sure I get through that spot as quickly as possible," said Utah State Parks deputy director Devan Chavez.

For Ian's family, it was almost a poetic end to an extraordinary life.

"I can't imagine a better way to go out," Dylan said. "That they were with each other, doing what they loved in an absolutely beautiful place."

CONEJOS COUNTY, Colo. The two hunters who disappeared in Colorado's backcountry died after a lightning strike, a coroner confirmed to Denver7 on Monday.

The bodies of Andrew Porter of Asheville, North Carolina, and Ian Stasko of Salt Lake City, Utah, both 25 years old, were found a couple miles away from a trailhead in Conejos County on Sept. 18.

On Monday afternoon, Denver7 called the Conejos County coroner, who told us that the two men died from a lightning strike that hit a nearby tree and spread to them. Neither men had burn marks, he said. The official autopsy report will become available after eight to 10 weeks.

The Conejos County Sheriff's Office announced on Sept. 16 that the two men had disappeared during an elk hunting trip west of Trujillo Meadows Reservoir, which is about 4 miles north of the Colorado-New Mexico line.

Their loved ones had been expecting them to check in at a predetermined time, but they never did, the sheriff's office said. The families have not heard from the men since Sept. 11, when severe storms pummeled the area. Two days after, on Sept. 13, deputies with the sheriff's office responded to the Rio De Los Pinos Trailhead to try to locate the two men. They found their vehicle with camping gear and backpacks inside, but did not find the men.

The sheriff's office said this concerned deputies because of the recent poor weather. Porter's fiance, Bridget Murphy, told Denver7's news partner KOAA that while Porter and Stasko are experienced hunters, "bad cold storms and fog came in quickly and continuously until Sunday (Sept. 14) morning."

The search for the men included crews on foot, in the air and with dogs. More than 54 teams of professionally trained search and rescue personnel from Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Wyoming and other states were involved, as well as volunteers.

Porter and Stasko were found deceased on Sept. 18 by Colorado Search and Rescue, family members told Denver7. That day, the sheriff's office confirmed they had found the bodies of two males about two miles from the Rio De Los Pinos Trailhead around 11 a.m. following an "extensive search operation," and confirmed their identities the following day.

Conejos County Coroner Richard Martin previously told Denver7 that there were no visible injuries on the men's bodies and no "initial signs of foul play."

Colorado has seen its fair share of lightning-related incidents, as thunderstorms are common in the late spring through the summer a common time for people to recreate above tree line, which is typically between 11,000 and 12,000 feet.

In an average year, lightning strikes the ground in Colorado about 500,000 times, the National Weather Service said. Based on NWS data since 1980, lightning kills two people and injures 12 in Colorado each year.

In mid-June, two men from New York were rescued near the summit of Torreys Peak, which has a summit around 14,300 feet, after they were both struck by lightning. A National Guard Blackhawk helicopter pilot was able to make two trips to save the men. This is likely the highest helicopter rescue in Colorado history.

In May 2024, a rancher and 34 head of cattle died in a lightning strike in Jackson County. The blast knocked about 100 of the cows off their feet.

A few years ago, a Colorado native escaped lightning on Mount Shavano on a day with a clear forecast. She was on her way down from the summit around 10:30 a.m. when she was shocked by some rocks.

She shared her story with Denver7 in 2021 and what she did to stay safe. Watch that report below.

Back in 2019, eight people were injured when lightning struck an entire group of hikers at Devil's Head Lookout. The strike hit a rock wall near the hikers, and the blast knocked many of them to the ground, an incident commander told Denver7.

The National Park Service has shared a few tips about what to do if a storm moves in while you are recreating.

EVERGREEN, Colo. The shooter at Evergreen High School, a 16-year-old student at the school, had been radicalized and came to the school Wednesday with "quite a bit of ammunition," Jefferson County authorities said on Thursday morning.

That teen, who had shot two of his peers before turning the gun on himself, was identified as Desmond Holly by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO). Holly died on Wednesday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, JCSO said.

Denver7 Investigates' Tony Kovaleski learned from two high-ranking sources that the shooter had been identified as Holly, and he was the first to report this earlier on Thursday morning.

Two other students were transported to a hospital following the shooting. One of them is still at CommonSpirit St. Anthony Hospital and is in critical condition. The other, who authorities said is also still in critical condition, was taken to another facility and is expected to recover. Security is present at both hospitals. Authorities said they initially thought a fourth person may have been injured in connection with the shooting, but no longer believe that is the case.

During a press conference on Thursday morning, Jacki Kelley, public information officer with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, praised the Evergreen High School community for their quick thinking as the tragedy unfolded Wednesday.

The students and the staff at the school were amazing. They did their job," she said. "They did it well. And lives were saved yesterday because of the actions they took during their lockdown drill... I do know that he tried to gain access to areas that were locked down and those teachers and those students did their job and took into account what they learned and it kept them safe."

You can watch Thursday's full conference, where Kelley shared a broad timeline of the shooting, an update from the two victims, and more about the shooter, in the video below:

Kelley said that the investigation has revealed that Holly had been "radicalized by some extremist network," though few other details about this were available.

Holly had one revolver of unknown caliber, which he repeatedly reloaded during the incident, Kelley said, adding that he had "quite a bit of ammunition." An exact amount is unknown as of publishing time.

The suspects gun was fired a lot," she said. "The reason we have so many crime scenes is because we have windows that were shot up, we have lockers that were shot up. We have spent rounds, unspent rounds. Its a huge area.

One of the injured students was shot inside the school and the other was shot outside, she said.

This went on and on," she continued, explaining that Holly tried to find new targets. ... He came up against a roadblock on many of those doors. He couldnt get to those kids. So, there's not enough to be said for the work (of) the teachers, the coaches, the staff, the students. Lots of kids ran. But the ones who didnt were locked down and cared for. So, really, really proud of those people today.

Cameras inside the school captured his movements as Holly moved around the school, Kelley said. That will be part of the investigation.

Investigators are in contact with his parents and they have been cooperative, Kelley said.

The JCSO is working to learn how Holly obtained the firearm and if the shooting was random or targeted.

There is no known motive as of Thursday afternoon.

We will do what we can as a community to heal from this," she said. "It really sucks that were here again. Weve had our fair share of school shootings in Jeffco. But were going to do everything everything that we can to help these kids heal, to help the teachers and parents get back to life and a lot of that is just going to take time. But the resources are available and were encouraging everybody to use them.

Denver7 Investigates was the only crew on-scene as law enforcement searched the Holly family home in a remote, gated community several miles from the high school on Wednesday. We saw nearly a dozen law enforcement vehicles enter the property, and what appeared to be officers taking photos and collecting evidence inside.

Kelley could not say what investigators found at the house, but said on Thursday that "I think they found valuable information for our case.

Watch Denver7 Investigates' report below on the search warrant execution at the Holly family home from Wednesday evening:

Sources also told Denver7 Investigates that law enforcement was looking into Hollys school locker and personal vehicle Wednesday evening. Kelley said he rode the bus to school on Wednesday morning.

Denver7 Investigates also uncovered a social media account appearing to belong to Holly's father, which had posted photos of the house that matched photos from where the search warrant was executed.

Jeffco Public School classes are canceled on Thursday. Classes at Evergreen High School are canceled for the rest of the week.

BOULDER, Colo. The man accused of injuring and burning a group of people in Boulder with Molotov cocktails on Sunday had been planning the attack for a year, according to an arrest affidavit.

The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, of Colorado Springs, is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into a crowd of demonstrating people, injuring 12 of them, and yelling "Free Palestine," according to a federal arrest affidavit Denver7 obtained and Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty. A state arrest affidavit added that witnesses saw him using a commercial weed sprayer filled with a flammable substance as a makeshift blowtorch.

Nobody was killed in the attack.

He is being held on multiple state felony charges, including 16 counts of attempted first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault against an at-risk victim, two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of possession of an incendiary device and 16 counts of attempted possession of an incendiary device. In addition to the state charges, he has been charged with a federal hate crime, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

These charges may change, authorities said.

Initially, authorities said eight people had been injured and hospitalized. This increased after four additional victims were identified, District Attorney Dougherty said during a press conference on Monday.

Three people remain at UCHealth University of Colorado, the hospital confirmed to Denver7.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed Soliman is in the United States illegally. He came to the United States in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired the following February.

On Sunday afternoon, the local group from the organization Run For Their Lives held its weekly walk to bring attention to the Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The Boulder group walks every Sunday and planned to do so at 1 p.m. at the corner of 8th Street and Pearl Street. Sunday was the start of the Jewish holiday Shavuot.

According to a state affidavit for Soliman's arrest, he arrived shortly before 1 p.m. and was dressed like a gardener so he could get as close to the group as possible. He had purchased flowers from Home Depot and the backpack sprayer, which he had filled with gas, the document reads.

Officers with the Boulder Police Department responded to the area around 1:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a man with a "blow torch" who was setting people on fire and throwing Molotov cocktails, the affidavit says.

Around 2 p.m., Soliman threw two lit Molotov cocktails at people who were participating in the gathering, the federal affidavit reads. The Molotov cocktails ignited and burned eight people.

When officers arrived, witnesses pointed to a shirtless man who was standing in the grass and yelling at the crowd, the state affidavit reads.

The Associated Press reported that after the initial attack, the suspect hid behind some bushes before reemerging and attempting to throw another Molotov cocktail, but appeared to accidentally catch himself on fire. The AP said he had been wearing what appeared to be a bulletproof vest.

He was then detained and brought to a hospital for medical help.

The victims four men, four women were identified as between the ages of 52 and 88, and included one person who is a Holocaust survivor.

At the scene, law enforcement found a plastic container that contained at least 14 unlit Molotov cocktails, the affidavit reads. District Attorney Dougherty said later in the day that two additional ones were found, bringing the total to 16. Nearby, authorities found a backpack weed sprayer, which investigators believe may have contained flammable substance, the federal affidavit continues.

"The clear liquid in the glass bottles and weed sprayer were determined to be 87 octane gasoline, which was determined to contain xylene based on a field test," the document reads.

Law enforcement also found Soliman's vehicle parked nearby at Spruce Street and 13th Street.

Local and federal authorities interviewed Soliman on Sunday.

In that interview, he said he had researched how to make Molotov cocktails after he was denied the purchase of a gun since he is not a legal U.S. citizen, the state affidavit reads. He said he purchased most of the required materials in Castle Rock, constructed them and drove to Boulder, arriving at 12:55 p.m. He told authorities he threw two of the Molotov cocktails at the gathering, the two affidavits say. In the state affidavit, he added that he only sprayed the gas from the backpack sprayer on himself, as he had planned on dying.

"He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead," the federal affidavit reads, and he added that he would do it again.

Soliman further explained that he "hated" the group and wanted to stop them from taking over "our land," which he said was Palestine, according to the federal affidavit.

According to the state affidavit, he said he only threw two of the Molotov cocktails because "he got scared and had never hurt anyone before. He said he had to do it, he should do it, and he would not forgive himself if he did not do it."

Hear directly from witnesses who saw the attack unfold in Boulder on Sunday afternoon in the video below.

Soliman told authorities he had been planning the attack for one year and was waiting until after his daughter had graduated from high school, which happened on Thursday.

They learned Soliman was born in Egypt, lived in Kuwait for 17 years and moved to Colorado Springs about three years ago with his wife and five kids, according to a state affidavit. They did not know about his plans, he told authorities.

The AP reported that he worked as an Uber driver and was employed by a "Denver-area health care company working in accounting and inventory control, with prior employers listed as companies in Egypt." He said he had left an iPhone hidden in a desk drawer at his house with messages to his family, the federal affidavit said, and also left a journal at home.

The state affidavit said he has no criminal history listed in the National Crime Information Center.

Evidence technicians ended up finding 18 incendiary devices, including the two that ignited, an affidavit reads.

Soliman is being held on a $10 million bond at the Boulder County Jail. He is next expected in court on Thursday.

In the 24 hours after the attack, authorities had interviewed 44 witnesses.

"To all the victims, their loved ones and to this community, I promise you that each one of us up here today work tirelessly to ensure that justice is done and the defendant is held fully accountable," District Attorney Dougherty said. "What I want to stress is this community has experienced too many tragedies, fires, floods and mass attacks, but each time I've seen this great community respond with strength, strength, resilience and support for one another."

"I trust and hope that that will happen again now, that for the many members of the community have come forward before, to help one another, to support one another, to comfort one another, that that will happen again today and in the weeks, months going forward, that once again, our community will rally to restore peace and to bring support and comfort one another during this dark hour," he continued.

The attack on Sunday is the result of a normalization of hate in the country, an Anti-Defamation League spokeswoman told Denver7 this morning. Watch the video below.

The Anti-Defamation League has data showing 279 antisemitic incidents in Colorado last year. This marks a 41% spike year over year, they reported. Nationwide, the average increase over that same time period was about 5%.

Before Swedish slow TV hit The Great Moose Migration began airing Tuesday, Ulla Malmgren stocked up on coffee and prepared meals so she doesn't miss a moment of the 20-day, 24-hour event.

Sleep? Forget it. I dont sleep, she said.

Malmgren, 62, isn't alone. The show, called Den stora lgvandringen in Swedish, and sometimes translated as The Great Elk Trek in English, began in 2019 with nearly a million people watching. In 2024, the production hit 9 million viewers on SVT Play, the streaming platform for national broadcaster SVT.

The livestream kicked off a week ahead of schedule due to warm weather and early moose movement. Malmgren was ready.

From now until May 4, the livestream's remote cameras will capture dozens of moose as they swim across the ngerman River, some 300 kilometers (187 miles) northwest of Stockholm, in the annual spring migration toward summer grazing pastures.

Not much happens for hours at a time, and fans say that's the beauty of it.

I feel relaxed, but at the same time Im like, Oh, theres a moose. Oh, what if theres a moose? I cant go to the toilet! said William Garp Liljefors, 20, who has collected more than 150 moose plush toys since 2020.

The Great Moose Migration" is part of a trend that began in 2009 with Norwegian public broadcaster NRK's minute-by-minute airing of a seven-hour train trip across the southern part of the country.

The slow TV style of programming has spread, with productions in the United Kingdom, China and elsewhere. The central Dutch city of Utrecht, for example, installed a fish doorbell on a river lock that lets livestream viewers alert authorities to fish being held up as they migrate to spawning grounds.

Annette Hill, a professor of media and communications at Jnkping University in Sweden, said slow TV has roots in reality television but lacks the staging and therefore feels more authentic for viewers. The productions allow the audience to relax and watch the journey unfold.

It became, in a strange way, gripping because nothing catastrophic is happening, nothing spectacular is happening," she said. "But something very beautiful is happening in that minute-by-minute moment.

As an expert and a fan of The Great Moose Migration, Hill said the livestream helps her slow down her day by following the natural rhythms of spring.

This is definitely a moment to have a calm, atmospheric setting in my own home, and I really appreciate it, she said.

The calming effect extends to the crew, according to Johan Erhag, SVT's project manager for The Great Moose Migration.

Everyone who works with it goes down in their normal stress, he said.

The moose have walked the route for thousands of years, making it easy for the crew to know where to lay some 20,000 meters (almost 12 miles) of cable and position 26 remote cameras and seven night cameras. A drone is also used.

The crew of up to 15 people works out of SVTs control room in Ume, producing the show at a distance to avoid interfering with the migration.

SVT won't say how much the production costs, but Erhag said it's cheap when accounting for the 506 hours of footage aired last year.

Erhag said Swedes have always been fascinated by the roughly 300,000 moose roaming in their woods. The Scandinavian country's largest animal is known as King of the Forest. A bull moose can reach 210 centimeters (6 feet 10 inches) at shoulder height and weigh 450 kilograms (992 pounds).

Despite their size, the herbivores are typically shy and solitary.

We actually dont see it very often. You often see it when youre out driving maybe once or twice in your life, Erhag said. I think thats one thing why it has been so, so popular. And then you bring in the nature to everyones living room."

Hanna Sandberg, 36, first began watching the show in 2019, though she didn't spot any moose. She tuned in the following year, finally saw some and got hooked.

You can watch them and be a part of their natural habitat in a way that you could never be otherwise, she said.

After hours of showing an empty forest, a camera captures footage of a moose approaching the riverbank. Suddenly, slow TV turns urgent.

The push alert hits SVT's app Frsta lgarna i bild! which translates to First moose on camera! as viewers worldwide tune in. The livestream's chat explodes as commenters type encouragement for the animal, now making its way into the water.

I would actually like to be a little fly on the wall in every household that watches the moose migration. Because I think there is about a million people saying about the same thing: Go on! Yes, you can do it!" Malmgren said.

Mega-fans like Malmgren, who is in a Facebook group of 76,000-plus viewers, are committed to watching as many hours as possible. Some viewers on Tuesday posted photos of their dogs and cats staring at their televisions, enthralled by the moose on the screen.

I was late to school because I saw moose and my teacher was like, What, you saw moose in the city? And I was like, No, its on the TV, Garp Liljefors said ahead of Tuesday's showing.

Malmgren said friends and family have learned not to bother her when the moose are on the move.

When someone asks me, What are you doing? Oh, never mind, its the great migration," she said. "They know.

CHELSEA, Mich. (AP) Residents of all ages in a small Michigan community formed a human chain and helped a local bookshop move each of its 9,100 books one by one to a new storefront about a block away.

The book brigade of around 300 people stood in two lines running along a sidewalk in downtown Chelsea on Sunday, passing each title from Serendipity Books' former location directly to the correct shelves in the new building, down the block and around the corner on Main Street.

It was a practical way to move the books, but it also was a way for everybody to have a part, Michelle Tuplin, the store's owner, said. As people passed the books along, they said I have not read this and thats a good one.

Momentum had been building since Tuplin announced the move in January.

It became so buzzy in town. So many people wanted to help, she said Tuesday.

Tuplin said the endeavor took just under two hours much shorter than hiring a moving company to box and unbox the thousands of titles. The brigade even put the books back on the shelves in alphabetical order.

Now Tuplin hopes to have the new location open within two weeks.

The bookstore has been in Chelsea, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) west of Detroit, since 1997. Tuplin has been the owner since 2017 and has three part-time employees.

About 5,300 people call Chelsea home and residents described it as a place where neighbors help neighbors.

It's a small town and people just really look out for each other," said Kaci Friss, 32, who grew up in Chelsea and has worked at the bookstore for a little over a year. "Anywhere you go, you are going to run into someone you know or who knows you, and is going to ask you about your day.

Friss said Sunday's book brigade reminded her of how special this community is.

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. Along a curve of Boulder Canyon Drive on Monday, family and friends of CU Boulder student Megan Trussell gathered in the snow, hugging one another and placing flowers at a pink sign that proudly read, "We love you, Megan!"

"No one else is described the same way she was, so we've already accepted that it is her," her cousin Rebecca Perez told Denver7. "I know they're going to do some more confirmation this week just double confirm, I guess but weve all pretty much accepted that this is her."

The Boulder County Sheriffs Office said on Monday afternoon that it is continuing to investigate the case and understands the community is concerned, however "it is too soon to determine what caused the death" or to publicly identify the body.

"I believe that Megan is in a better place," her father Joe Trussell said on Monday at the memorial site. "You know, Im kind of a spiritual guy. Ive had signs that she's OK, and thats making me OK. We're never going to get over it the grief will last the rest of our lives and were different people now and I understand that."

The CU Boulder Police Department first posted online about Megan's disappearance on Feb. 13, saying she was last seen on Feb. 9. The FBI also posted online that it was assisting in the search. The following day, Feb. 14, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued a statewide Missing Indigenous Person Alert for Megan.

Nearly a week after she was last seen, on Saturday morning, Boulder park rangers called the sheriff's office to report finding a deceased person above Boulder Canyon Drive, west of the city, in a "hard-to-reach" spot that required rappelling to reach, the sheriff's office said. It's not exactly clear where the body was found.

In the video below, hear from search volunteers dedicated to finding Megan Trussell and the breaking news about the discovery of a body matching her description.

When detectives arrived at the scene, they found a body that matched Megan's description. The whole stretch of Boulder Canyon Drive was closed between Boulder and Nederland during the investigation.

Judy Brocato, a family friend of the Trussell family, told Denver7 on Saturday morning that Megan was not much of a hiker and had left home in "big white platform sneakers" to go out into the cold evening. She added that Megan's sister lives in the Arapahoe Grove area and she believes Megan was heading up there on the evening of Feb. 9. Brocato was one of a few dozen people who gathered for a volunteer search on Saturday morning.

While the Boulder County Coroners Office will confirm the identity of the discovered body, as well as the cause and manner of death, Megan's family has already accepted it is her.

"It's been coming in waves and I get really happy to remember the times that I got to spend with Megan, but then as soon as I remember what happened, it just hits me like, it's awful," Perez said on Monday. "It's an awful feeling that someone should never have to go through."

Along the memorial site set up on Boulder Canyon Drive on Monday, Joe Trussell and Megan's mother stood in front of a crowd, bundled up against the cold, many clutching Squishmallow plush toys one of Megan's beloved comforts.

Joe Trussell said he had texted Megan and her sister mid-week, but didn't get a response. When he checked her phone data, he saw she had not texted anybody since that Sunday, Feb. 9, which was unusual.

"So we headed straight up here, met with the police and started searching and that was Wednesday, Thursday, Friday," he said. "And then Saturday morning it's just terror. Everything about this is bad, right? Everything about it is bad, but this is a different kind of bad. This is grief and this is knowing what happened, and thats so much easier to deal with then not knowing anything."

As a spiritual person, he said he often meditates and was taught to create a place that feels like home in his mind for him, his parents' kitchen table in Louisiana and to seek advice from whomever shows up. Late last week, he took some time to meditate and saw Megan sitting next to his mother, who has also passed away.

"I was obviously hurting very badly, and I went to get advice and I went into that 'room' and Megan was sitting next to my mom, and I didn't put her there," he said. "And she was fine. Just hanging out with her grandmother. You can take that any way you want to. I know how I took it. I said, 'She's OK.' And I feel that. I have a very, very strong spiritual connection with Megan."

Now, the best way he can help Megan is to show grace and love to those who have helped in the searches and investigation, he said.

Joe Trussell said he won't speculate on what happened to his daughter, but feels confident that investigators will put the pieces together, even if he wishes the answers came faster.

Megan's family said its fundraising efforts to support the search for the missing young woman will now go toward honoring her memory and helping her grieving family as they prepare for a funeral service.

Perez, who created the fundraiser, confirmed this to Denver7 on Monday, saying the money raised will now go to her immediate family to make sure they are "taken care of and all that during this very, very hard time for us."

Hear more from Megan Trussell's cousin about their efforts to fundraise with the search, and the heartbreak that came with turning it into a memorial fund.

"I believe the biggest thing is just sending love," Perez said. "The GoFundMe is really just to make sure everyone's taken care of during this tough time, making sure everyone gets fed, make sure everyone can get to where they got to go to be with each other. I appreciate the amount of money that is coming through, but obviously no matter how much money, it won't bring her back, and that's the most heartbreaking part of it."

If you would like to support the fundraiser, the GoFundMe can be found here.

A letter sent to the CU Boulder community acknowledges the devastating news and offers resources to help people navigate their grief. Click here for more details on available support.

WELD COUNTY, Colo. Greeley residents may spot drones flying in the skies here and there Monday afternoon, but Weld County sheriffs deputies are getting ahead of a potential flurry of calls by stating there will be nothing mysterious behind them.

In a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, deputies with the Weld County Sheriffs Office said the agencys Drone Team will be performing training exercises with the unmanned aircraft around N. 11th Ave. and H St. in Greeley starting at around noon until about 3 p.m. Monday.

"It's basically a training exercise to practice what we're going to do in real life," Sgt. Jerry Porter with the Weld County Sheriff's Office told Denver7.

"We're able to actually deploy the drones to make the officers jobs much safer in the event that we're trying to apprehend a fugitive, for example, we can actually get a drone in the sky and have eyes on that person or persons, and be able to give real time intelligence to the deputies and officers on the street."

Deputies said on that social media post they were alerting the public in the interest of transparency in case a member of the community sees or contacts a drone(s) in this area.

There is no danger to the community, they added.

Mysterious drone sightings continue in New Jersey, parts of the East Coast

The announcement from the Weld County Sheriff's Office comes as social media sleuths and federal authorities are trying to discover who or what is behind a large number of mysterious drones that have been reported flying over the skies of New Jersey and across several eastern U.S. states since November.

At first, the drones were spotted flying along the Raritan River in New Jersey, about 50 miles west of New York City. Since then, sightings have become more widespread, including over military installations and President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster.

While public officials have said that the drones do not pose a threat, no one has been able to say where they are coming from, but the public and lawmakers in states where sightings have been reported are growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of transparency from the federal government.

The Pentagon and the White House have downplayed the sightings, with the former saying last week the drones were not from foreign entities nor military-related, and the latter saying people were likely mistaking planes for drones.

In a call with reporters Saturday that was organized by the White House, senior officials from the FBI, Pentagon, Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies sought to assure people that the drones are not a national security or public safety threat, or the handywork of a malicious foreign actor, according to the Associated Press.

The FBI, Homeland Security and local state agencies where sightings have been reported since last month are investigating.

Despite lack of recent sightings, Colorado is no stranger to mystery drones

Colorado where several conspiracy theories find their ground, mostly centered around Denver International Airport and more recently, Bigfoot is no stranger to mystery drones.

Residents in northeastern Colorado reported seeing a band of large drones flying in formation and lighting up the night sky for several weeks starting in November 2019 into January of 2020.

And just as it is happening in New Jersey and other parts of the East Coast now, federal and state officials at the time were stumped over where those drones were coming from and why.

In all, seven Colorado counties launched investigations about those mystery drones alongside Homeland Security and the FBI.

By mid-January, however, officials from the state department of public safety said they would be scaling back their investigation into the mysterious drone sightings over northeastern Colorado.

In all, the Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC), a division of Homeland Security, found that around 27 out of the more than 100 reports they received from late November 2019 to mid-January 2020 were either hobbyist drones, planets, stars, atmospheric conditions or commercial aircraft.

You can view our report on Colorado's mystery drones from early 2020 in the video player below.

DENVER Videos spreading on social media since Aurora became a talking point for politicians to discuss U.S. immigration policy would have you believe lawlessness had reached such a low point the Hells Angels were ready to descend upon Colorado to fight back against the alleged takeover of a few apartment complexes by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Despite police refuting those claims over the weekend, videos posted on X and TikTok continue to spread unsubstantiated allegations the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is coming to Colorado.

On Wednesday, the motorcycle club set the record straight.

A social media rumor claiming that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is headed to Aurora, Colorado to violently confront Venezuelan immigrants has gone viral, a spokesperson for the club said in a statement posted by the Rocky Mountain charter on Instagram. Most of these posts regurgitate this lie, and attempt to validate it with a video of motorcycles riding in organized pack.

The video in question is this one. The problem? The video showing bikers riding on their way to Colorado is actually from 2013, according to a Community Note posted on X.

The HAMC strongly denies the foundation and validity of these absolutely ridiculous and false claims, the statement from the Hells Angels reads. The HAMC does not involve itself in political issues outside of motorcycling and takes no stance on the issue of immigration or the presidential election.

The statement from the Hells Angels also states the motorcycle club is concerned only with motorcycle enthusiasm and benefiting the communities it resides in. A video of motorcycles riding in a pack provides no proof of this false rumor.

Denver7 has been following developments in Aurora ever since city officials earlier this month told dozens of residents many of them immigrants from Venezuela that the apartment complex they were living in was going to be shut down due to a long list of code violations, which the property management company blamed on the Tren de Aragua gang.

Since then, Denver7 has kept you informed about Auroras effort to investigate the gangs presence in the area, as well as more recent developments from the feds, which announced Wednesday they had partnered with Aurora PD as revelations come to light that components of the gang have been operating in both Aurora and Denver, though the crimes appear to be isolated at this time.

Mayor Coffman talks to Denver7 about alleged Venezuelan gang activity and his comments surrounding the issue:

Last Friday, the Aurora Police Department shared a video which showed officers engaging with residents of The Edge at the Lowry apartment complex, located at 1218 Dallas St one of several buildings at the center of concerns regarding alleged activity by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

In the video, Interim Aurora Police Chief Heather Morris said that officers found no evidence of a gang takeover.

We've been talking to the residents here and learning from them to find out what exactly is going on. And there's definitely a different picture. I'm not saying that there's not gang members that don't live in this community, but what we're learning out here is that gang members have not taken over this complex, Morris said.

Despite unfounded claims of gang takeovers, Denver metro police agencies, including APD, did confirm that Tren de Aragua is operating in the metro area, and the City of Aurora said they are taking the threat seriously.

BELLVUE, Colo. A metallic monolith that seemingly appeared out of nowhere on a farm just north of Fort Collins last week has been taken down due to an overwhelming influx of visitors to the area over the past several days.

Lori Graves, the owner of the land on which the monolith appeared and the owner of Howling Cow Caf in Bellvue, said in a Facebook post earlier Wednesday that the monolith had been taken down due to the overwhelming influx of people on the farm.

The shiny, six-foot tall structure bolted into a cement pad on a hill on Graves farm had attracted dozens of spectators since it first appeared without anyone noticing on June 25.

Similar in shape yet a bit wider to those that have popped up in other places across the country and around the world since late 2020, the monolith drove curious people from around the state to the farm located just over 70 miles outside of Denver.

"I was hearing that there was an alien monolith on the hill, and where did it come from? And a whole bunch of questions. And I didn't know. I had to go outside and look for myself," Graves told Denver7 last week, who at the time said she had no plans to make it go away lest she incurred the wrath of a hostile alien species visiting our tiny blue dot.

By Wednesday, however, Groves said she didnt want to bring any more trespassers into her land.

If you are the creator and would like it back, please email HowlingCowCafe@gmail.com, Graves said in the social media post.

Checkout a brief timeline of monoliths that have appeared across the world here or in the Infogram below.

BELLVUE, Colo. It's not clear whether a big jump in human evolution will have its epicenter in a small town just over 70 miles outside of Denver, but whether it happens or not isn't a concern for the many spectators who've begun gathering there after a monolith popped up on a hill, seemingly without anyone noticing.

The structure is well over six-feet tall, shiny and on top of a hill in Bellvue, Colorado.

"When I first saw it, I definitely thought of '2001: A Space Odyssey,'" said Brandon Scott, who was driving out of state and decided to stop and see the monolith in-person on his way.

The monolith is similar, yet wider, to those that have popped up in other places across the country and around the world since late 2020.

Checkout a brief timeline of monoliths that have appeared across the world here or in the Infogram below.

"I was hearing that there was an alien monolith on the hill, and where did it come from? And a whole bunch of questions. And I didn't know. I had to go outside and look for myself," said Lori Graves, who owns the land the structure is on.

Who put the monolith on the hill, how did they hoist it atop the hill and why? All questions Graves is now asking herself after first being told about the structure over the weekend.

"I mean, I don't know what aliens drive these days, whether they flew it in, whether it was, I mean... we've run the gamut of it; could be some local artist. It could be a bunch of kids," Graves said. "That took some work and some planning. You don't build one of those overnight."

The monolith is bolted into a cement pad on the hill and despite it also being behind a gate, many are stopping by to take a look at the bizarre structure with unknown origins.

"We were not going to miss this one," said Jorie and Mark Kramer. "We were afraid we'd miss it, because they do take them down. So, it's good to be able to see it."

Jeremy Pounds, who lives just minutes away, told Denver7 he drove by on his way to work.

"Right now, I'm mostly curious," he said.

As for who put it there, that is the pillar of the debate.

"I don't think it's aliens. I'm definitely a skeptic," Scott said.

For Graves, the curiosity has brought amusement and even added business to her nearby caf, and she's embracing it all.

"I don't plan to do anything to make it go away. I don't want to make an alien mad," she said.

The second former Aurora paramedic found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain was sentenced on Friday to four years of probation and more than a year in a work release program.

Jeremy Cooper, along with former paramedic Peter Cichuniec were convicted in December by an Aurora jury on the charge of criminally negligent homicide after administering a deadly dose of ketamine to McClain.

On Friday afternoon, the judge sentenced Cooper to four years of probation. As a term and condition of that sentence, he will also serve 14 months in a work release program and will complete 100 hours of public service, the judge said. During the work release program, he will leave during the day for work but return to jail for evenings and weekends, the Colorado Attorney Generals Office said.

He reports to jail on June 7.

Many people spoke during the sentencing hearing, including the defendant's wife, Tarrah Cooper. She began by offering her condolences to the McClain family, particularly his mother Shaneen McClain.

"Healthcare providers take these losses very personally," she said. "And while I realize it doesn't bring her child back, I want her to know that my heart aches for her. I pray for her inner peace and know that she will be reunited with Elijah again someday."

She said she knew what her husband was thinking on the evening of the incident as the body camera footage was played over and over in court.

"My heart broke because I knew exactly what Jeremy was thinking, because I actually know him," Tarrah said. "He wanted to get his patient out of that situation. He was anxious because he knew time was of the essence and he wanted to help Elijah. A man with Jeremy's level of integrity and commitment to his work is only focused on the task at hand."

She said her husband will carry the loss of Elijah with him forever and asked for a sentence that would allow Jeremy Cooper to see his family.

Cooper also spoke on Friday, and began by saying he did not know how or where to start.

"What I would like to do now is just talk to Elijah," he said. "Elijah, I am a man of faith. I know you are here among us and you can hear me. I wish I wasn't standing here talking up to you because that would mean that you are here. There's so much I want to say to you."

He said at the scene that evening, he desperately wanted to take over care and for the ambulance to arrive so he could get the help McClain needed.

"I wanted to save you," he continued. "I want you to be here with us. I want you to be able to hug your mother, your siblings and your friends. But I know that that isn't possible. I don't pretend to understand the why of all of this, but I can pledge to you that I will spend my remaining balance of my Earthly life trying to learn and grow and try to understand the why. And I will never forget you."

Shaneen McClain, Elijah McClain's mother, also addressed the courtroom.

"You cannot evoke my son's name to absolve you of your own sinful nature," she said. "You betray yourself and your attempts to disrespect me here today, like Jeremy Cooper's disrespectful lawyer it all shows your culture will not change because you find no fault in your actions... The lack of humanity in your comments are not a surprise at all. Eternal shame on you all."

She said the trials in this case have been exhausting, but worth it.

"I'm here to witness the sentencing for Jeremy Cooper and his participation and my son, Elijah McLean's murder," she said. "Human justice does not come anywhere close to what true accountability is. So I will continue to say, meditate and pray for divine justice for my son, Elijah McClain, from my heart to my hands. Long live Elijah McClain always and forever."

After the sentencing was read in court on Friday, she spoke briefly in front of the courthouse.

"We won. No matter what. Elijah won," she said, with her fist held up. "Always and forever. The bull**** a** lies in America don't mean s***. We won. Elijah won. Elijah's legacy is forever and their legacy is over. That's it and that's all. America is full of hate, full of racism, full of inequality. Nothing here is balanced for every one. They don't care about us. They never did. America's origins are built on racism, slavery, torture, brutality, rape. And an egotistical mindset. They are not better than us. No one is better than us. We have been through too much as a race and as a culture. And we are still here. And we're not going nowhere. Because you brought us over here. Deal with it."

Watch her speak below.

Coopers sentencing comes nearly two months after Cichuniec was sentenced to five years in a Colorado prison, the minimum sentence he could face, to be followed by three years of parole.

Both Cooper and Cichuniec faced additional charges of reckless manslaughter and second-degree assault with intent to cause bodily injury/causing serious bodily injury. The jury found both paramedics not guilty of those charges.

Cichuniec was also found guilty of second-degree assault by unlawful administration of drugs with a crime of violence enhancer.

Cooper also faced that charge but was acquitted.

Both paramedics, along with three Aurora police officers, were indicted by a grand jury in September 2021, more than two years after McClains death.

While three former Aurora police officers were tried for their alleged roles in McClains death, only one officer was ultimately convicted.

Former Aurora Police Officer Randy Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third degree assault. He was sentenced to 14 months on the third-degree assault conviction and 4 years probation for the homicide charge.

Watch the verdict in this case below.

Former Aurora Police Officer Jason Rosenblatt was acquitted of all charges as was Nathan Woodyard, who was the initial officer to confront McClain.

Sheneen McClain, Elijahs mother, took issue with the fact that Woodyard, who was the officer to place him in the neck hold, was acquitted, while Roedema was the former cop to be found guilty of charges, the AP reported.

The neck hold rendered the unarmed McClain unconscious, and was a catalyst for protests that followed months later. Medical officials determined the ketamine injection played a key role in his death.

Dr. Stephen Cina, the pathologist whose initial autopsy report found McClains cause of death was undetermined later amended his report to list complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint as a factor.

I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine, Cina wrote in his amended autopsy report.

While Aurora prosecutors initially declined to press charges, Colorado Governor Jared Polis ordered the investigation reopened in the wake of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in the spring of 2020.

Cooper was the paramedic that injected McClain with ketamine, a sedative, after he was stopped by police while walking home from an Aurora convenience store after a 911 caller reported a sketchy man wearing a ski mask. McClain had committed no crime.

Lawyers for the paramedics argued they responded with the ketamine injection to help McClain who they believed was suffering from excited delirium, a controversial medical condition described by a patient displaying agitation, aggression and acute distress.

In the trial, prosecutors criticized the paramedics for not coming to the aid of McClain while officers continued to struggle with and pin the 23-year-old to the ground.

But Peter Cichuniecs defense attorney, David Goddard countered: "At that point in time, they don't have access to McClain. It appears to them that police are actively struggling with the patient," Goddard said. "So they wait. They are powerless to do anything about it.

Watch the paramedics take the stand in their own trial below.

Coopers defense stated he was following Aurora Fire Rescue protocol in administering ketamine, but prosecutors said the paramedics overdosed McClain with 500 mg of the sedative, an inappropriate amount for his weight and size.

After Coopers December 2023 conviction, Aurora Fire Rescue Chief Alec Oughton said he was deeply concerned and disappointed in the verdict. "I am discouraged that these paramedics have received felony punishment for following their training and protocols in place at the time and for making discretionary decisions while taking split-second action in a dynamic environment," Oughton wrote, adding that his department is committed to making improvements to Aurora Fire Rescue.

Following McClains 2019 death, a 2021 Colorado law limited first responders' use of ketamine when responding to a call for service.

Attorney General Phil Weiser released the following statement following Friday's sentence:

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. The first of two Aurora paramedics convicted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain was sentenced Friday to five years in prison followed by three years of parole in connection with the unarmed Black man's death.

Peter Cichuniec, who was convicted in late December of criminally negligent homicide alongside Aurora paramedic Jeremy Cooper, was also found guilty of second-degree assault by unlawful administration of drugs. Cooper was acquitted of that charge.

Cichuniec, who was sentenced to a minimum of five years for the assault charge the minimum sentence the judge could have given him under sentencing guidelines was also sentenced to one year in prison for the criminally negligent homicide charge, which will be served concurrently.

His sentencing came after around 90 minutes of statements from family and friends of Cichuniec and Elijah McClains mother, Sheneen McClain, who did not mince words during the hearing.

They want to blame their inhumane actions on their inhumane training, but (the) reality is that they could have done something simply by just staying, Stop hurting my patient,'" Sheneen told the court Friday.

As she left the courtroom, Sheneen raised her fist in the air, as she's done in previous hearings. She provided no other statements outside the courtroom.

Cichuniec also addressed the court, along with his wife and two sons, before the sentence was handed down.

"I wish I could look into Ms. McClain's eyes and tell her Elijah would be okay, but I can't. That destroys me as a person, father and a paramedic," said Cichuniec before the packed courtroom. "I am truly sorry for the loss of her sons life," he added.

Cichuniec has been in the Adams County Jail the last 70 days and will get credit for that time served. Judge Mark D. Warner said Cichuniec has 49 days to appeal his sentence, and 126 days to ask the Adams County court to reconsider the outcome. In all, he could have faced a maximum of 16 years in prison for the assault charge.

Cichuniec "disregarded his training"

Attorney General Phil Weiser released a statement following Cichuniec's sentencing, saying the ruling sends a strong message that no profession is immune from accountability.

"Emergency medical professionals serve honorably every day and save lives. In this case, Mr. Cichuniec disregarded his training and ordered Elijah McClain to receive a deadly dose of a powerful sedative while he was restrained and motionless on the ground, which killed him," Weiser wrote. "But todays sentence from the court is one of accountability for the defendants criminal negligence in the death of Elijah McClain. It sends a strong message that no profession, whether a paramedic, a nurse, a police officer, an elected official, or a CEO should be immune from criminal prosecution for actions that violate the law and harm people.

Both Cichuniec and Cooper were found guilty in connection with McClain's death after administering a deadly dose of ketamine to the 23-year-old, who had been put in a neck hold and pinned down by police after a 911 caller reported a "sketchy" man in the neighborhood the night of his violent arrest on Aug. 24, 2019. McClain was returning home from the store and had committed no crime.

Cooper and Cichuniec along with three Aurora police officers were indicted by a grand jury in Sept. 2021, more than two years after McClains death and about a year after the unarmed Black mans death had garnered attention in the wake of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in the spring 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 late last month and will be reintegrated within the Aurora Police Department.

How the cases were brought to trial

The charges against all five stemmed from McClains deadly arrest the night of Aug. 24, 2019, after Woodyard put the unarmed 23-year-old in a neck hold that rendered him unconscious as paramedics arrived at the scene to inject him with a heavier dose of ketamine than was appropriate for his weight. While the neck hold proved to be the catalyst for the protests that would follow months later, officials eventually determined the sedative played a key role in his death. McClain, a massage therapist known for his gentle nature, was just walking home from a convenience store after purchasing some iced tea when he was stopped by police.

More than a year would pass for a state grand jury to return a 32-count indictment against the three officers and two paramedics involved in McClains' death, and 13 months before the Adams County Coroner amended McClains autopsy report to show his cause of death was complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint," leaving his manner of death undetermined.

Dr. Stephen Cina, a pathologist whose autopsy report initially stated that McClains cause of death was undetermined, would amend it to list complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint after receiving extensive body camera footage, witness statements, and additional records that gave him more detail about what happened to McClain the night of his arrest.

I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine, Cina would write in his amended autopsy report.

DENVER A YouTuber accused of speeding from Colorado Springs to Denver in about 20 minutes has been arrested in Texas.

Rendon Tyrell Dietzmann, 32, of Texas, who also goes by Gixxer Brah on YouTube, was arrested Wednesday in Denton County, northwest of Dallas, on a warrant out of El Paso County in Colorado, according to court records obtained by Denver7 Thursday.

He was arrested on an assault charge, jail records from the Denton County Sheriffs Office show.

Dietzmann was wanted by the Colorado State Patrol on suspicion of menacing, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, speeding and other charges, after uploading a since-deleted video to YouTube which showed him riding a motorcycle from Colorado Springs to Denver at more than 150 mph as he weaved in an out of lanes and between cars along I-25 on Sept. 28, 2023.

That route typically takes an hour to an hour and a half to complete without traffic.

The Colorado incident isnt the first for Dietzmann, as similar videos exist in which the suspect can be seen speeding along various highways from across the U.S.

It's not clear when Dietzmann will be extradited to Colorado to face those charges.

DENVER It was a busy year for the states Division of Motor Vehicles, and not just due to Coloradans wanting to renew their driving license.

The Colorado Department of Revenue on Friday revealed the DMV approved over 60,000 personalized license plate applications in 2023.

While thousands of them were approved, over 1,000 were rejected in 2023 due to foul, lewd or rude requests, a spokesperson for the agency said in a news release Friday.

Among the rejections? 4FFSAKE, 69PRVR B4LLER HELLYES K1NGSHT, among a thousand more.

The rejected requests were added to the DMVs offensive-omit list, which the agency uses to automatically reject most of these requests, according to the spokesperson.

The list has been built over the years using the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) recommendations, known offensive words and terms, and compared to what other states do not allow, the spokesperson wrote.

If you didnt have luck last year in requesting a series of letters, dont give up just yet a DMV committee periodically reviews these numeric combinations and may remove it from the naughty list via a vote or I a court ruling orders the DMV to remove and issue the configuration.

Coloradans can personalize many of the states 218 license plates at an additional cost of $60 on top of regular fees. Personalized license plate renewal can cost between $25 and $75, and can be completed online or at a county motor vehicle office.

To see the full list of the Colorado DMVs rejected personalized license plates for 2023, click here.

Video obtained by Denver7 shows the wild scene amid a fight that broke out at the end of a basketball game between rival high schools Eaglecrest and Smoky Hill Wednesday night.

It shows an outbreak of fisticuffs as students flooded outside the Eaglecrest gymnasium. One person can be seen being picked up and slammed into the concrete. Another appears to be hurt after diving into the ensuing pileup.

Near the end of the one-minute clip, someone can be heard off camera yelling, Call the ambulance!

Denver7 made the decision to blur the video captured by Eaglecrest student Matias Calderon to disguise the identity of those involved, many of whom were minors.

One person, who the Cherry Creek school district tells Denver7 is not a student at either school, was taken to the hospital with injuries.

Cherry Creek School District spokesperson Lauren Snell said the district was aware of multiple fights at the school during the basketball game, which Smoky Hill won, 70-53.

School security personnel and multiple law enforcement officers were working at the school for the game, the district said.

A letter sent to Eaglecrest parents obtained by Denver7 said initial reports of a weapon being involved in the fight were not true.

The circumstances that led to the fight were not immediately clear.

Calderon said his first instinct was to record as the kerfuffle unfolded Wednesday.

All of a sudden, I see people running, Calderon told Denver7 Thursday. I didnt know what was happening. I turn around [and] see people fighting.

He added that fighting between students was not uncommon at all at Eaglecrest.

Frankie Sanchez, a former wrestling coach at the school, said scenes like Wednesdays donnybrook were part of the reason he left Eaglecrest.

It was very disturbing when I saw the videos because this could happen any time I was coaching there or any event, Sanchez said. This kind of stuff gets overlooked. [The district doesnt] want it to seem like its a problem, but it is.

The letter sent to Eaglecrest families said the school was working with the Arapahoe County Sheriffs Office and Smoky Hill High School to investigate the incident. It said the district takes fights seriously.

Violence of any kind is not tolerated in the Cherry Creek School District, and anyone found to be involved in fights will face serious disciplinary consequences and may face legal repercussions as well, the letter read.

DENVER Over the years, weve had bomb cyclones, derechos and polar vortexes. But now, apparently, Coloradans can also experience the awe of fire rainbows.

As if weather wasn't already crazy enough in our beautiful Colorful Colorado, Jeremy Daniel, a member of our Discover Colorado | Through your photos Facebook group recently submitted a photo taken in the San Luis Valley as he was traveling through the area.

When out and about, you notice locals pulling over on the highway to stare at something. You should probably pull over too. Its likely something worth staring at. he wrote in the Jan. 11 post to the group.

And how could you not stare at such magnificent display of beauty?

Were pretty sure the photos dont do the weather event justice, and with the Great Sand Dunes as part of the frame-worthy photo? Its definitely a winner.

So what exactly is a fire rainbow?

This is actually the sun shining through the clouds at an angle, and it depends on the angle of the sun on what you experience here with this fire rainbow, said Denver7 meteorologist Stacey Donaldson.

Its also known as a circumhorizontal arc, a halo, parahelia or sun pillar, she said.

Its all basically the same thing, which is the sun shining through ice crystals in a cloud and showing up these colors as it refracts through those ice crystals, Donaldson said.

Its not that common to see fire rainbows in Colorado, she added, and we actually experience sundogs more often than fire rainbows.

Whats a sundog? Its another interesting meteorological phenomenon in which the sun refracts through ice crystals at a certain angle, creating a sort of halo around the sun.

Sundogs are also known as mock suns or a parhelion, according to the National Weather Service.

All in all, whether its fire rainbows or sundogs, Colorado has had its fair share of crazy weather events, the latest one being cold air damming.

AURORA, Colo. Moments before the only Aurora police officer convicted in the death of her son was sentenced, Sheneen McClain on Friday delivered emotional victim impact testimony to an Adams County courtroom.

Randy Roedema was sentenced to 14 months for a third-degree assault conviction and four years probation for criminally negligent homicide in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain during his fatal encounter with police.

Sheneen McClain stepped up to the microphone, grabbed a tissue and asked the court to please give me a moment before pausing to collect her thoughts.She then gave powerful, ten-minute remarks aimed at Roedema, who was seen on video directly behind her.

The following is the full transcript and video of her remarks.

Please give me a moment. Hello. My name is Sheneen McClain. I am the mother and present parent of Elijah McClain.

I raised Elijah alone without help from family members or his absent parent. I'm sure you do not know what that feels like, so let me continue. I appreciate the opportunity to speak today for my son, Elijah, my other children and myself. I stand here before my God, the people of Colorado and humanity everywhere.

I was taught that parents should raise their children so that someone else can be around that child. That means the child needed to learn values and morality, about how to properly interact with other family members at social events, including in work environments. I was also taught that a child should not be supported, rewarded or praised when they make a mistake, but they should instead be encouraged to correct that mistake and not lie to cover up their wrongdoing.

It is painfully obvious that my son's murderer was not taught the same values about humanity and kindness that I was. They were not taught. Roedema was not taught the valuable lessons of life's purpose. Elijah McClain had no criminal activity or record at the time of his murder on Aug. 24, 2019. Elijah was a young adult who had his whole life ahead of him. Once Elijah turned 18 years of age, Elijah's health issue, every health issue Elijah had as a child, he studied and he overcame on his own. My son, Elijah McClain, was a healthy young man the night Randy Roedema chose to show my son the power and privileges of the boys in blue.

Peace Officers are not I said Peace Officers are not supposed to be murderers. But that is what Randy Roedema became the night he bullied my son to death. If an individual is trained to view others based on their race, or if an individual is trained to be a brutal machine of force, that individual becomes incapable of showing kindness to people of diversity, and communities everywhere. At what point in time does that individual choose his own humanity instead of the inhuman protocols of his training?

Randy Roedema stole my son's life away, and in the eyes of my God and human loss everywhere, theft is a crime. All the achievements in the world becomes a person's past once that person changes into a monster. Our communities cannot know peace until we see the Justice Department hold their own enforcers accountable. My son will never be a dad, an uncle, or a grandfather. Randy Roedema stole my son's life. All the belated apologies in the world cannot remove my son's blood from Randy's hands. Prison is the only accountable justice that Randy Roedema deserves. He does not deserve probation. He does not deserve his freedom with his family. Randy Roedema has earned a maximum prison sentence held up by Adams County, Colorado judicial services.

I do not want any restitution from my son's murderer. Elijah McClain was a few months old when I was told by my church Bishop that Elijah had healing hands and was destined to be a spiritual leader. Elijah McClain taught himself how to play various instruments and fell in love with the violin. Elijah McClain taught himself how to draw and was getting his finances together so he could attend art school one day. Elijah McClain was a massage therapist who became a massage therapist at the early age of 18, so that he could better provide for the kind of lifestyle he wanted to live. Elijah McClain is my second oldest child of six children. Elijah McClain was the only person in my known family's history that had achieved a career at such an early age. Elijah McClain was a person who believes in respecting other people's boundaries, because he wanted his boundaries respected in return.

Elijah McClain loved music. He loved dancing. He loved singing. He loved animals, and he was grateful for his life. My son Elijah McClain was murdered more than four years ago by Randy Reodema, his co-workers and their accomplices on Aug. 24 2019, in Aurora, Colorado, in a brutal attempt to display some type of expertise, experience and privilege, Randy Roedema brutalized my son Elijah McClain to death. There was no reason for Randy Roedema to treat Elijah the way he did to the point of no return. Elijah McClain spoke English, so there was no way he was misunderstood. Instead, he was ignored and bullied by individuals who took an oath to protect our communities.

That night on Aug. 24, 2019, protecting our community was the furthest thing from Randy Roedema's mind. Randy Roedema was, is, and will always be a bully with the badge. Elijah McClain did not understand why he was being attacked by police officers and why he was being arrested. Elijah McClain was already handcuffed. Elijah McClain just needed to sit up so he could breathe better. Elijah McClain just needed to sit up so he could correctly remove the blood and vomit from his lungs. Elijah McClain just needed someone to listen to him and respond appropriately for clarity. Elijah McClain was held down by Randy Roedema and tortured by Randy Roedema in numerous ways, for no other reason except Elijah was different.

It doesn't matter how my son was different. What matters is that my son was not like Randy Roedema. Randy Roedema was enjoying himself so much that he did not let Elijah go until Elijah's lifeless body was transferred to a gurney, where was Randy Roedema's humanity and kindness that night? There was no reason for Randy Roedema to put his knee and my son's back and sit on my son's chest. Randy heard my son cry and beg for his life. Randy heard my son's body parts shift under the weight of Randy's torturous tactics. Randy knew he was wrong but continue to operate as a barbarian instead of a peace officer.

There was no reason for Randy to apply pain techniques and Elijah's arms and wrists. There was no reason for Randy to have my son's arms in such a way that Randy heard a pop. There was no reason for Randy to slam my son to the ground while Elijah was just wanting to sit up to breathe. I watched the body cam videos over and over again so that I would know when my son's last words were spoken. And who was the reason for that?

I have sat through the trials, looking for some form of regret, remorse or guilt on the faces of my son's murderers and their supporters. I have found none. I have listened to the trials to see if I can hear it in their voices. But instead I only heard lies and blaming others for their trained cruelty. I said trained cruelty. I heard no humanity or accountability from the actions of committing a murder, a murderous crime, while on duty. There was no evidence of kindness in their eyes. There was no humiliation in their fake smiles and there was no goodness in their demeanor. Instead, I found arrogance. I found ego and I found that privileged attitude. I am here to witness if Randy Roedema will receive full punishment in prison for his crime and brutalized and torturing my son, Elijah McClain to death.

What Randy Roedema did to my son, Elijah McClain, that night is called murder. Regardless of how it's classified with legal protocols, and legal confusing words. My son was murdered with intent and malicious based on the body cam videos that are now being viewed by the entire world. No matter what happens here today, no matter what Randy Roedema is sentenced to Randy Roedema will always be a bully with a badge ... that use his power and some of the most horrific and evil ways.

The world knows that my son was innocent and never should have been stopped. The world knows that Aurora, Colorado's policy enforcers have been racially trained through biased beliefs. The world knows you, Randy Roedema, as an evil person in the history of Colorado, as well as the history of the world's events. Elijah McClain will always be the hero and Randy Roedema will always be the villain. Divine justice for my son Elijah McClain. Thank you, your Honor.

AURORA, Colo. The only Aurora police officer found guilty in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain will serve 14 months in an Adams County jail and several years of probation.

Randy Roedema, the most senior officer who responded to the scene the night 23-year-old McClain was apprehended and later died in the hospital, was convicted in October by a jury of criminally negligent homicide, a felony and third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

Judge Mark Warner sentenced Roedema to 14 months for the third-degree assault conviction with work release authorization. On the charge of criminally negligent homicide, the judge sentenced the defendant to 4 years probation to run concurrently with the other charge.

Roedema was also ordered to serve 200 hours of community service and was denied the setting of an appeal bond but has 49 days to appeal his sentence.

Elijah McClain was stopped while walking home from a convenience store on August 24, 2019 after a 911 caller reported seeing a sketchy man in the neighborhood.

The criminally negligent homicide conviction could have carried a sentence from probation to three years in prison while the assault charge was punishable by up to two years in jail.

Officers responded, placing McClain in a carotid hold and pinning him down before Aurora Fire Medics later injected him with a heavy dose of ketamine.

The neckhold was at the center of the case but the administration of ketamine by paramedics was the ultimate cause of death, his defense argued.

McClain was taken to an Aurora hospital where he was taken off life support and died on August 27, 2019.

During McClains fatal encounter with police, Roedema helped hold down McClain while paramedics injected him with the sedative.

Roedema was terminated by the Aurora Police Department following his conviction in October.

Moments before Roedema was sentenced, Sheneen McClain, Elijah's mother, delivered a victim impact statement in the courtroom.

"It is painfully obvious that my son's murderer was not taught the same values about humanity and kindness that I was. They were not taught. Roedema was not taught the valuable lessons of life's purpose," she said. "Elijah McClain had no criminal activity or record at the time of his murder on Aug. 24, 2019. Elijah was a young adult who had his whole life ahead of him."

After the guilty verdict in the fall of 2023, McClains mother reacted to the decision in a statement to Denver7.

"This is America and it was never great to the nations of people that were captured, enslaved, raped, and murdered for their lands or their labor. America needs to start telling the truth about its history and changing the way it treats all the people that pay into its systems of control. America is divided in so many ways, on so many levels, and in so many areas of understanding. If America ever wants to be great, then it has to enforce equity as well as equality that is represented in every law and seat that every citizen is governed by," said Sheneen McClain. "Don't say sorry to me for humans that fail even their own kind. My soul still cries out for Divine Justice For My Son Elijah McClain."

At the end of the joint trial, a jury also acquitted Aurora officer Jason Rosenblatt of any charges in McClains death.

During Friday's sentencing hearing, Roedema's defense along with family and friends testifying on his behalf, asked Judge Mark Warner to hand down a judgment of probation and if incarceration were ordered, that the sentence be no more than 6 months.

The prosecution urged Judge Warner to sentence Roedema to a maximum of 3 years.

A second trial was held for Aurora Officer Nathan Woodyard, who was accused of placing McClain in a chokehold rendering him unconscious.

After the 11-day trial, the jury found Woodyard not guilty of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

After the acquittal, Woodyard, who was suspended from the force without pay in September 2021, was ultimately reinstated within the Aurora Police Department.

While Roedema was the only officer convicted in a series of trials in McClains death, a jury in a separate trial found two Aurora paramedics, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, guilty of criminally negligent homicide, after injecting McClain with a deadly dose of ketamine.

Both paramedics were found not guilty of the additional charges of reckless manslaughter and second-degree assault with the intent to cause bodily injury/causing serious bodily injury. Chichuniec was found guilty of second-degree assault by unlawful administration of drugs with a crime of violence enhancer. Cooper was acquitted of the same charge.

Aurora Fire Medics were trained to use ketamine to treat excited delirium, but McClains death spurred calls to restrict the use of the sedative by first responders leading to a complete ban signed into Colorado law in 2021.

Sentencing for both paramedics was scheduled for March 1, 2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. Jurors Friday convicted two Aurora paramedics of criminally negligent homicide but were split on the charges regarding the unlawful administration of ketamine in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, an unarmed Black man who was injected with a heavy dose of the powerful sedative after a violent encounter with police that ultimately led to his death a few days later.

The verdict was reached after two days of deliberations by a jury who found itself split by late Friday afternoon, with some of the jurors telling Judge Mark D. Warner they were "hopelessly deadlocked" on some of the charges against the paramedics.

The judge instructed them to return to the deliberation room so they could come to a decision, which they reached by around 5:20 p.m.

The 12-person jury found Aurora paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec guilty of criminally negligent homicide after administering a deadly dose of ketamine to McClain, who had been put in a neck hold and pinned down by police after a 911 caller reported a "sketchy" man in the neighborhood the night of his violent arrest on Aug. 24, 2019. McClain had committed no crime.

The jury, however, did not believe Cooper and Cichuniec were guilty of reckless manslaughter or second-degree assault with the intent to cause bodily injury/causing serious bodily injury. They also found Chichuniec guilty of second-degree assault by unlawful administration of drugs with a crime of violence enhancer. Cooper was acquitted of that charge.

Cichuniec will be remanded until sentencing due to the crime of violence sentence enhancer. Cooper is free on bail until sentencing. Sentencing for both paramedics is scheduled for March 1, 2024.

"We knew these cases would be difficult to prosecute. We are satisfied with todays verdict, and we are confident that bringing these cases to trial was the right thing to do for justice, for Elijah McClain, and for healing in the Aurora community," said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser outside court Friday evening. "Indeed, the prosecution teams in the three trials brought to light the events that occurred that dark night. The world Elijah and especially his mother Sheneen McClain deserved to have the full story told. And justice demanded it."

Weiser added that accountability for officers who "unnecessarily escalate situations that dont call for the use of force" won't end with these trials, and that Colorado must continue its work "to improve policing and emergency response and build trust between law enforcement, first responders, and the people they are sworn to protect. We must do all we can to prevent these tragedies.

Cooper and Cichuniec along with three Aurora police officers were indicted by a grand jury in Sept. 2021, more than two years after McClains death and about a year after the unarmed Black mans death had garnered attention in the wake of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in the spring 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 late last month and will be reintegrated within the Aurora Police Department.

"Deeply concerned and disappointed"

In a statement, Aurora Fire Rescue Chief Alec Oughton said that while he appreciated the jury's diligence, integrity and public service to ensure a fair trail for both Cooper and Cichuniec, he was "deeply concerned and disappointed" in the outcome.

"I am discouraged that these paramedics have received felony punishment for following their training and protocols in place at the time and for making discretionary decisions while taking split-second action in a dynamic environment," Oughton wrote, adding that his department is committed to making improvements to Aurora Fire Rescue.

Some of the changes that have since taken place since McClain's deadly arrest include the re-establishment of a medical branch to enhance oversight of the department's emergency medical procedures and incidents; new protocols to clarify who is in charge when multiple agencies are on scene; the implementation of a quality-assurance review on all sedative administration; the creation of new citywide protocols to dispatch the appropriate level of care to each call received by Aurora911; and increased input and coordination from Aurora residents to understand how AFR can better serve them.

"On behalf of all the members of Aurora Fire Rescue, Id like to first express my deepest condolences to Elijah McClains family for their tragic loss in August 2019," the chief said. "As Fire Chief overseeing Aurora Fire Rescue, I take responsibility for the safekeeping of our community and our team of professionals that serve them."

Per Aurora's city's charter, both paramedics were relieved of their employment following Friday's conviction.

How the cases were brought to trial

The charges against all five stemmed from McClains deadly arrest the night of Aug. 24, 2019, after Woodyard put the unarmed 23-year-old in a neck hold that rendered him unconscious as paramedics arrived at the scene to inject him with a heavier dose of ketamine than was appropriate for his weight. While the neck hold proved to be the catalyst for the protests that would follow months later, officials eventually determined the sedative played a key role in his death. McClain, a massage therapist known for his gentle nature, was just walking home from a convenience store after purchasing some iced tea when he was stopped by police.

Dr. Stephen Cina, a pathologist whose autopsy report initially stated that McClains cause of death was undetermined, would later amend it to list complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint after receiving extensive body camera footage, witness statements, and additional records that gave him more detail about what happened to McClain the night of his arrest.

I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine, Cina would write in his amended autopsy report.

Paramedics made "decision after decision and every single one ignored the risks"

In closing arguments, prosecutors alleged both Cooper and Cichuniec "made a plan" that fell outside standards of care by leaving McClain helpless after administering ketamine and not checking his deteriorating medical condition.

Both paramedics "made decision after decision and every single one ignored (the) risks" to McClain, said Ann Joyce, assistant attorney general in department of law with the Colorado General Attorney's Office, as she outlined a series of excuses she said both defendants used to explain why they didn't check on him or ask police any questions that would better inform him about McClain's worsening outcome before administering a higher dose of the sedative than what was appropriate for McClain.

"They both decided to give (him) the ketamine. They both decided to give him 500mg... they are both responsible," Joyce said.

A "very complex and complicated case"

Lawyers for the defense, however, argued that paramedics responded the best way they could to a situation they encountered, and that they were trained that using ketamine can help patients who need to be sedated due to "excited delirium," a controversial and widely rejected medical condition that is characterized by agitation, aggression, acute distress and sudden death a condition paramedics said McClain had at the time of his arrest.

Cooper's defense attorney, Michael Pellow, told jurors in closing arguments that the protocol paramedics had to follow at the time was to "treat aggressively" when encountering an agitated patient since they could die if medical care isn't administered. But, he argued, what wasn't in the protocol at the time was what paramedics were supposed to do when "police are all over a potential patient," as was the case with McClain that night.

It makes us sick to watch a video that you know how its going to turn out the sad, terrible ending to it. We all have hindsight at this point," Pellow told the court. "But they didn't."

Pellow argued that throughout the course of the trial, "nine paramedics or former paramedics testified in this trial none said paramedics were outside standard of care."

David Goddard, the defense attorney for Cichuniec, on the other hand, told jurors that "the relevant question here is not whether McClain was suffering from excited delirium, but rather, the relevant question is whether its reasonable for these two gentlemen who believe he was suffering from excited delirium (to do as they did... and whether that was) consistent with what their training and protocol told them."

Goddard walked the jurors through the timeline of events as the paramedics saw them: Paramedics arrived to the scene and saw McClain on the ground being held down by several officers who were commanding him to stop fighting and resisting.

"At that point in time, they don't have access to McClain. It appears to them that police are actively struggling with the patient," Goddard said. "So they wait. They are powerless to do anything about it."

Cichuniec's defense countered the prosecution's argument that McClain was not rendered appropriate aid when paramedics got to the scene, "despite testimony that visual assessment is appropriate and within the standard of care."

"What did Cichuniec do to cause McClains death? He made sure the scene was safe, gave instructions for the ambulance to drive there, listed out the tools they would need over the phone, he brought the gurney to McClains side," Goddard countered. "He is not guilty. They are both not guilty."

Paramedics "treated Elijah McClain like he was a problem"

Rebutting the defense's closing arguments, Jason Slothouber, senior prosecutor for the Colorado Attorney General, said paramedics "treated McClain like he was a problem, not like he was their patient."

Slothouber argued that because paramedics assumed they were dealing with a "young man fighting with police," it was more convenient for them to not get close or determine if McClain was really under a state of excited delirium.

"This is not a situation where there was good effort and a mistake was made. These defendants did not even try," Slothouber said. "They come up, look at McClain, ignore every one of his words and make a decision to do the worst possible thing (administer a) big overdose of ketamine he doesnt need. And after that, they leave him prone on the ground and do nothing."

Slothouber then reminded jurors that many of the witnesses who testified agreed McClain died of pulmonary arrest, and it was only after his lung stopped working a consequence of ketamine administration that his heart stopped working, he said, urging the jury to take witness credibility into account.

"The key to this case is thats how bad it was (Cooper and Cichuniec) didnt even try," Slothouber said. "When McClain pleaded, 'Please help me,' they left him there, overdosed him on ketamine, left him there again and it killed him and thats why theyre guilty."

"There is a part of this story that we'll never know"

Describing McClain as a young man with a spirit "sweeter than any of us can ever try to be" who was called by God to be a healer in this world before his untimely death, MiDian Holmes, a friend and supporter of the McClain family, said there's a part of McClain's story that no one will ever know.

"We'll never know Elijah as the father. Well never know Elijah as the husband. We don't get that story," Holmes said, as she decried the actions of first responders that day. "So we are still seeking justice we do not know justice until we see sentencing."

Though McClain is gone, "he has never been forgotten," she said. "He has left a legacy for me, for you, for everyone."

Sheneen McClain releases a statement following the third trial

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. Closing arguments concluded on Wednesday late afternoon in the trial of two paramedics who face multiple charges in connection with the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain of Aurora.

Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper were charged with reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault, plus sentence enhancers.

McClain was stopped by officers with the Aurora Police Department (APD) on Aug. 24, 2019 after a person called 911 to report a suspicious person. Aurora police responded and following a violent encounter with the officers and a ketamine injection by paramedics, McClain died a few days later.

Cichuniec and Cooper are accused of injecting a significant amount of ketamine into McClain that evening. He was given 500 milligrams of ketamine, which is appropriate for a person who weighed about 200 pounds. McClain weighed 143 pounds.

In the previous trials for the involved Aurora police officers, a jury found APD Officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, and former APD Officer Jason Rosenblatt, who was fired by the department less than a year after McClain's death, was acquitted of all charges. In the second trial, defendant APD Officer Nathan Woodyard was also found not guilty.

In those trials, prosecutors argued the carotid hold, which was applied by police before paramedics arrived, played a key role in his death, while defense attorneys argued that the cause of death was only the ketamine, and McClain would have survived the police encounter without the injection. The ketamine led to cardiac arrest.

In the paramedics' trial, the prosecution rested on Dec. 13. The defense rested on Dec. 19.

Closing arguments began after jury instructions on Wednesday afternoon.

Just after 5 p.m., the jury was released to the jury room. The judge said he would likely release them from there after they got settled and deliberations would begin on Thursday morning.

Closing arguments from the prosecution

Ann Joyce, assistant attorney general with the Colorado Attorney General's Office, was the first person to provide a closing argument.

She started by outlining how the "defendants made a plan."

"Here was the plan," she said, speaking from the paramedics' perspective. "Were going to leave that person on the ground. Were not going to speak to him. Not a single word. Were not going to touch him. Not with a single finger. Were not going to get a single piece of equipment out of our bag to assess him. Were not going to put our faces near his face. Were not going to ask questions about what happened to him. Were not going to listen to what he is trying to say to us. Were just going to wait for the ambulance. And while we wait, were not going to do a single one of those things."

Joyce said they would give the maximum amount of ketamine once an ambulance arrived, whether McClain needed it or not, and would leave him on the ground until the effects settled in. Then, "once he's completely lifeless," they'd move McClain to a gurney, where they'd continue to ignore his airway, circulation and breathing, try to treat him in the ambulance and would leave him at the hospital, "where he won't be our problem anymore," Joyce said.

And the paramedics will still have no idea why they were called to the scene, she said.

Joyce said the defendants made decision after decision to ignore the "terrific risks" that they piled on McClain. That started with no assessment of him once they arrived. Joyce said almost every expert that testified through the trial said doing an assessment is foundational for any good medical decision-making and it was the protocol the paramedics were expected to follow.

They did not tell McClain who they were, did not ask him or police officers any questions, didn't lean over to look at him and did not check his vital signs. Every witness confirmed these steps never happened, she said.

She told the jury she wanted to talk about the defendants' excuses.

Joyce said they believed that a visual assessment was sufficient, but McClain was on the ground, where he was gasping, gurgling and asking for help.

A visual assessment was not enough," Joyce said.

She said the defendants claimed they wanted to do a better assessment but either McClain or the police were too aggressive. Joyce implored the jury to "use your common sense" and rewatch the body-worn camera footage, which shows McClain barely moving on the ground.

While on the stand on Dec. 18, Cicuhunic said he could not assess McClain because the man wasn't their patient until he was out of police handcuffs. Joyce challenged this, saying they injected him with ketamine while he was still handcuffed.

The risks of not assessing McClain before the injection is similar to hitting the gas pedal when you can't see through a windshield, Joyce said, quoting previous testimony by Dr. David Beuther, a pulmonary critical care physician at National Jewish Health.

Joyce said the defense will also claim McClain was suffering from excited delirium, as protocol said ketamine could be administered in this case. But McClain was not out of control he was crying out in pain and apologizing, she said, adding that he did not exhibit a single sign of excited delirium.

The risks of administering ketamine without this assessment were substantial, she said. McClain was hypoxic, aspirating and had acidosis, which are all treatable with oxygen and fluids. But paramedics did not provide these "basic life-saving measures," Joyce said.

When they did administer the sedative, they gave McClain 500 milligrams, which was too much for his 143-pound body. Joyce argued that the paramedics didn't try to estimate McClain's weight and didn't try to ask him or the officers who were hands-on with him.

They both decided to give the ketamine. They both decided to give 500 milligrams They are both responsible," she said.

She added that experts said there was no medical purpose to give ketamine at this point, and that giving it to a highly compromised patient could increase the risk of respiratory depression.

McClain is deteriorating in front of their eyes at this point, but they are not changing their plan," she said.

She said the defendants claimed they could not deviate from protocol, but she argued that is not true, and that if the condition of a patient changes, medical professionals can change their plan in response.

After the injection, Joyce said McClain was left prone on the ground and unable to clear his own airway which is a direct contradiction of their training, she said.

Six minutes after the injection, for the first time, she claimed, somebody looked for McClain's pulse and found it was absent.

She said experts confirmed ketamine was the cause of McClain's death, and his heart condition and narrowed coronary artery did not play a part in his death.

In her conclusion, she said that the defendants had the chance to tell their story twice once in a police interview a few weeks after McClain's death and again this week on the stand in the courtroom. And not once did they take accountability for their actions, admit they did anything wrong or show remorse, she said.

Closing arguments from Cooper's defense attorney

Defense attorney Michael Pellow, who is representing paramedic Cooper, said the prosecution wanted to make this feel like it is a simple case, but it is not it's a complex one.

He said that the evidence shows three things without a doubt:

Regarding excited delirium, he said paramedics were taught that it can become fatal, and is a major medical problem for people. That training included a solution ketamine administration. If a patient is agitated, they should be treated, since there is a chance of death, he said.

Pellow noted that in 2019, there was an uptick of excited delirium in Aurora, as Dr. Eric Hill, medical director for Aurora Fire Rescue, testified.

When the paramedics pulled up to the scene and walked to where McClain was being held down by police, they believed there had been, and possibly still was, a violent interaction between McClain and police. A police sergeant was at the scene and the paramedics believed he would correct any of the officer's inappropriate behavior.

He said there was no protocol in effect at that time instructing paramedics on what to do if police were "all over" a potential patient.

Once they decided to administer ketamine, Cooper said he tried to compare McClain to his body weight and subtracted 50 to 60 pounds, but it was hard to tell McClain's size, since he was wearing a jacket, had officers on top of him and it was dark out, Pellow said.

It makes us sick to watch the video, knowing how its going to turn out," he said. "The sad, terrible ending to it. We all have hindsight at this point. But they didn't. When you watch it and know somebody is going to die, it makes you feel like, Why don't you do something? Anything? Don't just stand there. It causes sadness and frustration and anger."

But he said the paramedics were assessing McClain's condition once they arrived, and could see he was moving, so he had a circulation and heart rate, and was breathing.

With "inaccurate and incorrect information," the paramedics had to make a decision. Pellow stressed they did this in the moment, without watching any body-worn camera footage or listening to experts.

When Cooper ordered the ketamine, he received "confirmatory information" from the police, who said McClain had "super strength," which furthered Cooper's belief that McClain was suffering from excited delirium.

Experts testified he was still breathing on the stretcher as he was loaded into the ambulance. His breathing stopped some time after that, Pellow said.

Pellow also addressed McClain's autopsy report, as well as the amended report. He drew comparisons between forensic pathologist Dr. Steven Cina's amended autopsy, which came out 2021 (his original one was issued after McClain's death in 2019), and how similar it was to forensic pathologist Dr. Roger A. Mitchell's analysis of the autopsy report. He said there is no evidence of anybody dying from 500 milligrams of ketamine.

Of the nine current or former paramedics who testified in this trial, none said the defendants were working outside the standard of care, Pellow concluded.

"We implore you to not make this tragedy worse by wrongly convicting him," he said of Cooper.

Closing arguments from Cichuniec's defense attorney

Defense attorney David Goddard, who represents Cichuniec, started by explaining that the relevant question in this case isn't if McClain was suffering from excited delirium, but if the paramedics' actions were consistent with their training and protocol.

At the scene that evening, the paramedics knew that there had been a prolonged struggle and that police believed McClain may have been under the influence. The paramedics saw McClain was breathing quickly and sweating, which led them to believe he could have excited delirium. Per their protocol, rapid sedation is required to treat this. Their training taught them that ketamine is safe and not lethal.

They heard police saying phrases like "Stop fighting" and "Stop resisting us," and because officers appeared to be actively struggling with the patient, they could not access him, Goddard said, but could visually assess him.

"So they wait," he said. "They are powerless to do anything about it."

Goddard challenged the prosecution's criticism of visual assessment, saying many of the people's own experts testified about McClain's rate of breathing and heart rate from body-worn camera video. He told the jury that the prosecution wants them to think that the paramedics' visual assessment was "somehow lazy work."

Once an ambulance, which carried the ketamine, arrived, Cooper administered the sedative and the group waited for it to take effect. They then removed the handcuffs and moved McClain to the gurney at that point, paramedics had full control of the patient and Goddard told the jury to watch what happens next: Cooper called for patient monitoring and vital signs, and then the ambulance was off to the hospital.

Goddard said between 10:43 p.m. and 11:02 p.m., McClain was in police custody and care, not paramedics'.

His breathing stopped after about a minute in the ambulance, he said, then life-saving measures began.

Does that sound like paramedics who didnt care? Goddard said, adding that to characterize the paramedics as "callous and not caring" is not only wrong, but disingenuous.

Goddard reminded the jury of the testimony from EMS lieutenant Robyn McKinley on Tuesday, who said that she did not see a single action from the paramedics that deviated from standard of care.

Like Pellow, Goddard also brought up concerns with McClain's autopsy and the amended report from 2021.

Where is the evidence that this safe drug given in a therapeutic dose that nobody has ever documented has been fatal at those levels where is the evidence that killed Mr. McClain? he asked.

At no time did police tell paramedics that McClain had complained about being unable to breathe, had vomited in his mask, and had appeared to lose consciousness.

"He is not guilty," he concluded. "They are both not guilty."

Prosecutor's rebuttal in closing arguments

These defendants treated Elijah McClain like he was a problem, not like he was their patient," Jason Slothouber, senior prosecutor for the Colorado Attorney General, stated at the start of his rebuttal.

Slothouber explained that police categorized McClain as "non-compliant," so when paramedics arrived, this was already in their mind. As they walked to the young man, McClain was heard saying "Ow, OK, OK!" because he was sensitive to pain and experiencing reality which are not symptoms of excited delirium.

The prosecutor said as Cooper stands nearby, "supposedly doing a visual assessment," McClain utters his last words on Earth: "Please help me."

After 90 seconds of standing over McClain, Cooper made the decision to use ketamine on him. While they used what the defense has called a "therapeutic dose," that only means it's an amount that a patient is supposed to get in a hospital with a doctor present. It is not pre-hospital safe, he said.

Slothouber said this was not a situation where there was a good effort and a mistake was made. The defendants did not even try, he said. If they had, they would have learned McClain was hypoxic, aspirating and had acidosis.

There was no need for a single milligram of ketamine," he said.

During the rebuttal, Slothouber urged the jury to take into account witness credibility. He dug into the defense's expert witnesses, saying some of them were biased and provided incorrect information.

Cooper's testimony was also unreliable, he said.

In his police interview a couple weeks after McClain's death, Cooper told police that after administering ketamine, McClain was moving around and trying to crawl up a grassy embankment. He said he asked somebody to move McClain to his side to monitor his breathing, and that he tried to take this pulse. Slothouber said this is never seen or heard in the body-worn camera footage.

"Why is the defendant grossly misrepresenting these facts?" he asked. Why is he making this up?

Slothouber said McClain received "the worst possible" care that evening and that the paramedics did not try to save McClain's life as he was held on the ground, saying, "Please, help me."

PREVIOUS DAYS OF THIS TRIAL:

Defense attorneys for Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper rested their cases Tuesday in the third and final trial in the case of Elijah McClain's 2019 death. Closing arguments took place Wednesday.

Both defendants face charges of reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault, plus sentence enhancers. A motion by the defense to dismiss all charges was denied by the court Tuesday.

McClain, 23, was stopped by officers with the Aurora Police Department (APD) on Aug. 24, 2019 and following a violent encounter, died a few days later.

Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are accused of injecting a significant amount of ketamine into McClain. Medical experts have previously testified that he was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for somebody of his size. In previous trials, prosecutors said the carotid hold, which was applied by police before paramedics arrived, played a key role in his death, while defense attorneys argued that the cause of death was only the ketamine, and McClain would have survived the police encounter without the injection. The ketamine led to cardiac arrest. McClain was declared brain dead and died Aug. 30, 2019.

Previously, a jury found APD Officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, and former APD Officer Jason Rosenblatt, who was fired by the department less than a year after McClain's death, was acquitted of all charges. In the second trial, defendant APD Officer Nathan Woodyard was also found not guilty.

The trial for Cichuniec and Cooper is expected to last about a month.

Scroll down to read updates from the Dec. 19 proceedings.

The defense for the paramedics called a new witness to the stand first thing on Tuesday morning: Robyn McKinley. She is employed by the Memphis Fire Department, currently as an EMS lieutenant, and received her paramedic license in January 1999.

For this case, McKinley reviewed body-worn camera footage, patient care reports, Aurora Fire Rescue (AFR) protocols and training, and transcripts of interviews with people at the scene, including Aurora police officers and paramedics.

During direct examination by the defense, she explained that she reviewed AFR's 2019 protocols on excited delirium. She explained it is a condition where a person becomes overly agitated, overly aggressively, disoriented and does not follow commands or feel pain. She confirmed she has dealt with patients in her own career who have suffered from this. Based on AFR's protocols, they were instructed to provide ketamine.

McKinley testified that based on what she saw in the body-worn cameras, she believed McClain was very strong, steadily aggressive and continued moving despite officers' commands. This led her to believe he was suffering from excited delirium.

She said in the body-worn camera footage, she could hear Paramedic Cooper outlining the next steps after the ketamine injection, which included getting McClain on a stretcher, securing him with soft restraints, loading him into an ambulance and doing an assessment of his condition this follows AFR protocol. She testified that as McClain was wheeled toward the ambulance, she believed she could see him breathing on the body-worn camera footage.

McKinley did not see when McClain stopped breathing, she said, and did not recall reading any reports that indicated he had stopped breathing before he reached the ambulance.

At the conclusion of the direct questioning, she confirmed she did not see anything outside the standard of care pre- or post-ketamine sedation.

The prosecution then cross-examined McKinley.

Prosecutors began by questioning McKinley's report she had prepared for the parties, particularly about the quotes used and left out. Prosecutor Jason Slothouber asked why McClain's quote "I intend to take my power back" which was made before paramedics arrived was included in her report. He accused her of wanting to emphasize how "scary" McClain was, which she denied.

Slothouber confirmed that other statements McClain made, such as "Please help me," "I can't fix myself" and "I'm trying" were not listed. McKinley said she did not hear some of the statements and did not believe it was necessary to include others.

The prosecutor then moved onto the paramedics' estimated weight for McClain. AFR paramedics are trained to use 300mg, 400mg, and 500mg of ketamine for small, medium or large people, respectively, if they are unable to determine a person's weight in the field. Slothouber stressed that the protocol reads those estimates were a starting point, and asked if paramedics ever tried to ask McClain's weight, and McKinley said she did not believe so.

McKinley explained that ketamine often works quickly within a few minutes and should be used when the patient and/or providers are in danger.

They reviewed post-ketamine protocols, which called for paramedics to provide breathing help after administering the sedative. McKinley said too much ketamine can lead to a risk of respiratory depression, depending on the patient.

Slothouber asked if it was harmful to move McClain to the ambulance before performing a post-ketamine assessment, knowing that sometime between the injection and when paramedics applied monitoring equipment in the ambulance, he went into respiratory arrest. McKinley answered that she had read that information in the patient care report.

When prosecutors followed up, asking about McClain's breathing rate per minute dropping from 40 to 12, McKinley explained that 12 is sufficient. Prosecutors asked if that was concerning, and she said no, especially if he had just been sedated.

Amid many questions, she said the AFR protocol says to avoid putting a patient in the prone position after ketamine administration, as it can increase the risk of aspiration. Slothouber brought up a few body-worn camera clips that he said showed McClain close to prone position, but McKinley said she couldn't tell if he was fully prone or not. She added that she could not confirm that as somebody moves toward the prone position, if there is more pressure on the person's chest.

The protocol also calls for paramedics to explain what is going on with the patient, to try to calm them down and to reassure them. McKinley said McClain was still surrounded by police when paramedics arrived, so she did not see them try to do that.

When the prosecution said that no matter what a patient is doing, paramedics should be able to talk to the person, McKinley responded that it depends on the medic.

McKinley added that protocols are guidelines for paramedics, and each situation is different. Slothouber brought up a section of the protocol about "continuous attention" that must be given after ketamine is administered, saying those items which include clearing a person's airway and checking vital signs are listed as mandatory.

During a redirect with the defense, attorneys circled back to several questions brought up by the defense:

The redirect concluded with McKinley confirming the paramedics acted in a speedy fashion, and that she never saw McClain in a position that could hurt his breathing, and never heard him struggling to breathe.

Ahead of lunch, court was on pause for some time while the judge spoke with parties about a matter.

After the break, Dr. Eric Hill, medical director for Aurora Fire Rescue, testified about the protocols developed to administer ketamine, which was approved in 2018 for use in Aurora to treat excited delirium.

Dr. Hill said the drug was brought on as a replacement for midazolam, which has the potential for more severe side effects compared to ketamine.

When asked by defense attorneys if 500 mg of ketamine the dose given to McClain is referred to as a "large dose" in training materials, Hill said that it wasn't considered a large dose, but rather the maximum dose recommended by the protocol.

The defense rested their case after Hill's testimony.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Wednesday.

PREVIOUS DAYS OF THIS TRIAL:

DENVER Jaya might be in the prime of his age to father infants at the Denver Zoos Sumatran orangutan enclosure, but were sorry to say you are NOT the father!

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Watch the reveal in the video below.

Two paramedics are at the center of the third and final trial in the case of Elijah McClain's 2019 death, and both defendants face charges of reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault, plus sentence enhancers.

McClain, 23, was stopped by officers with the Aurora Police Department (APD) on Aug. 24, 2019 and following a violent encounter, died a few days later.

Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are accused of injecting a significant amount of ketamine into McClain. Medical experts have previously testified that he was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for somebody of his size. In previous trials, prosecutors said the carotid hold, which was applied by police before paramedics arrived, played a key role in his death, while defense attorneys argued that the cause of death was only the ketamine, and McClain would have survived the police encounter without the injection. The ketamine led to cardiac arrest. McClain was declared brain dead and died Aug. 30, 2019.

Previously, a jury found APD Officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, and former APD Officer Jason Rosenblatt, who was fired by the department less than a year after McClain's death, was acquitted of all charges. In the second trial, defendant APD Officer Nathan Woodyard was also found not guilty.

The trial for Cichuniec and Cooper is expected to last about a month.

Scroll down to read updates from the Dec. 18 proceedings.

In the trials of Cooper and Cichuniec, the court ruled Monday that neither audio nor video recordings would no longer be allowed.

"The Court has also been informed by a credible source that a juror has been approached while shopping with an invitation to speak after the case," CoCourts posted on X Monday morning, formerly known as Twitter.

"This is a direct invitation for the juror to ignore the Courts repeated order not to speak with anyone about the case and an invitation for contempt proceedings, CoCourts went on to say.

Once Judge Mark Warner presiding over this case amended the decorum order for the trial, defense attorney Michael Lowe called his client Aurora Fire Rescue paramedic Peter Cichuniec to the stand.

The top takeaways from his testimony were:

You can read more about his full testimony here.

Cichuniec was dismissed from the witness stand, and the court took an early lunch break. The trial is expected to resume at 12:45 p.m.

After the lunch break, Cooper took the stand.

He testified that he followed the excited delirium protocol after observing McClain.

"With what I was observing, you know, kind of going down that agitated protocol," Cooper said. "And again, with what I was observing, and kind of the behavior of both Elijah and the officers, I was thinking this was more excited delirium than just an aggressive patient."

Cooper said he chose to leave McClain alone for a short time to de-escalate the situation. He claims he was concerned that getting involved right away would cause further harm to his patient.

"Just trying to make sure that he stays in a good position, to try to de-escalate things until [the ambulance] can get there," he said.

The 500 mg of ketamine administered to McClain was based on what Cooper estimated his weight to be, around 200 pounds, he testified in court.

"Collectively, we decided that was the excited delirium protocol and ketamine is the one drug of choice that we can use to help that," he said.

Prosecutors challenged him on apparent discrepancies from his initial statement to police made in September of 2020 and what he testified to in court on Monday, such as McClain allegedly fighting and resisting the whole time, even on the gurney --- something Cooper said he misspoke.

Prosecutors also questioned why equipment that may have been beneficial in the treatment of McClain was left on the engine.

PREVIOUS DAYS OF THIS TRIAL:

Both Aurora Fire paramedics on trial for the death of Elijah McClain took the stand in their defense during Mondays hearing.

Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are accused of administering the wrong dose of ketamine to McClain. Medical experts have testified that McClain was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for somebody his size. McClain was declared brain dead and died Aug. 30, 2019.

"This call was a little different because I saw three officers struggling more than the thousands of combative calls I've been on," Cichuniec said.

The prescribed dose of ketamine is 5mg per kilogram of body weight. By that recommendation and Cichuniec's estimation of McClain's weight, McClain would've gotten 425mg of ketamine. However, the paramedics gave him 500mg.

Cichuniec testified that AFR was instructed during ketamine training to administer 300mg for small patients, 400mg for medium-sized patients, and 500mg for large patients.

Slothouber pulled up the agency's protocol in front of the jury during his cross examination. The document only included the 5mg per kilogram dosing. However, Cichuniec said they were verbally told to use the 300, 400, 500mg outline during training.

During his redirect examination, Cichuniec's defense attorney asked if the witness had ever administered ketamine and if he was aware of the potential fatality involved with the wrong dosing. To which Cichuniec responded, "No. We were told numerous times this is a safe, effective drug... and it will not kill them."

Both Cichuniec and Cooper agreed McClain was suffering from excited delirium, according to Cichuniec's testimony Monday.

Under AFR protocol, when a paramedic determines a patient appears to be experiencing excited delirium, "the only treatment we can do is ketamine," Cichuniec testified.

"Excited delirium could kill you. If we don't work fast, he could die," Cichuniec said during redirect.

The AFR protocol instructed paramedics excited delirium patients " have a life-threatening medical emergency" with some or all of the symptoms listed in the training.

"Of theses symptoms, how many does the patient have to have?" Lowe asked his client.

"At least one," Cichuniec answered.

The prosecution has called into question how the paramedics could've known McClain was experiencing excited delirium when they appear to stand back when they first arrive on scene and don't ask McClain any questions.

"Back in 2019, we had no policy. Until [the patient comes] out of handcuffs, it's APD's scene. They're in control," Cichuniec testified.

During cross examination, the prosecution countered with the question, "How can you inject him with ketamine while he's in handcuffs" then?

Cichuniec's response was, "that's the medication he needs to be come our patient."

According to AFR, the next step to treat patients experiencing excited delirium is put on soft restraints, as opposed to hard restraints like handcuffs Aurora police were using.

AFR did not have soft restraints, ketamine or a stretcher on board the engine at that time, Cichuniec said.

They had to wait for an ambulance.

"The City of Aurora has no ambulances from our fire department, so we contract with FALCK Rocky Mountain," Cichuniec explained. "We needed our tools, and they weren't there."

The prosecution has drawn attention to Cichuniec leaving the scene several times through the course of the trial.

As the lieutenant on scene, Cichuniec said it was his responsibility to communicate with the ambulance.

Cichunied started in March of 2006 as an EMT and then became a paramedic in 2007, he testified Monday. Cichuniec then became a lieutenant for about five years before being promoted to a captain in 2020.

When Cichuniec's team arrived at the scene of McClain's arrest on Aug. 24, 2019, Cichuniec said, "I was the highest rank and made the decisions for the crew."

Cichuniec testified he walked up to see if Evergreen Street or Billings Street to the north were open to get the ambulance quickest access to McClain, given the amount of police cars parked right in front of the scene.

He said he kept walking back up the street, leaving McClain, to check on the ambulance. Cichuniec testified it seemed like it was taking a while for it to arrive.

By the time the ambulance arrived, Cichuniec said he told the paramedic on board the FALCK ambulance that he and Cooper had agreed to draw up 500mg of ketamine. Then, he and the EMT on board took the stretcher to the scene.

Cichuniec was dismissed from the witness stand, and the court took an early lunch break. The trial is expected to resume at 12:45 p.m.

After the lunch break, Cooper took the stand.

He testified that he followed the excited delirium protocol after observing McClain.

"With what I was observing, you know, kind of going down that agitated protocol," Cooper said. "And again, with what I was observing, and kind of the behavior of both Elijah and the officers, I was thinking this was more excited delirium than just an aggressive patient."

Cooper said he chose to leave McClain alone for a short time to de-escalate the situation. He claims he was concerned that getting involved right away would cause further harm to his patient.

"Just trying to make sure that he stays in a good position, to try to de-escalate things until [the ambulance] can get there," he said.

The 500 mg of ketamine administered to McClain was based on what Cooper estimated his weight to be, around 200 pounds, he testified in court. Prosecutors allege Cooper over-estimated the dosage.

"Collectively, we decided that was the excited delirium protocol and ketamine is the one drug of choice that we can use to help that," he said.

Prosecutors also challenged him on apparent discrepancies from his initial statement to police made in September of 2020 and what he testified to in court on Monday, such as McClain allegedly fighting and resisting the whole time, even on the gurney --- something Cooper said he misspoke on cross-examination.

Prosecutors also questioned why equipment that may have been beneficial in the treatment of McClain was left on the engine.

Court is expected to resume Tuesday.

Two paramedics are at the center of the third and final trial in the case of Elijah McClain's 2019 death, and both defendants face charges of reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault, plus sentence enhancers.

McClain, 23, was stopped by officers with the Aurora Police Department (APD) on Aug. 24, 2019 and following a violent encounter, died a few days later.

Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are accused of injecting a significant amount of ketamine into McClain. Medical experts have previously testified that he was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for somebody of his size. In previous trials, prosecutors said the carotid hold, which was applied by police before paramedics arrived, played a key role in his death, while defense attorneys argued that the cause of death was only the ketamine, and McClain would have survived the police encounter without the injection. The ketamine led to cardiac arrest. McClain was declared brain dead and died Aug. 30, 2019.

Previously, a jury found APD Officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, and former APD Officer Jason Rosenblatt, who was fired by the department less than a year after McClain's death, was acquitted of all charges. In the second trial, defendant APD Officer Nathan Woodyard was also found not guilty.

The trial for Cichuniec and Cooper is expected to last about a month.

Scroll down to read updates from the Dec. 15 proceedings.

Gary Ludwig, a Missouri-based expert with 46 years of experience as a paramedic, was brought back to the stand Friday for the defense to finish its direct examination.

Defense attorney Michael K. Pellow, who represents paramedic Cooper, asked Ludwig to define the acronym "SOAP" used by paramedics.

It's a process paramedics learn for what to do when they arrive on scene, according to Ludwig. "S" stands for gather "subjective" information you have been told by others dispatchers, law enforcement on the scene and witnesses if there are any. "O" stands for collect "objective" information what you are seeing and information or data you are gathering on scene. "A" stands for make a final "assessment" of what's going on with the patient, and "P" stands for make a plan of what you will do based on that assessment.

Ludwig expounded on his testimony from Thursday that Cooper did not approach the patient to gather objective information after initially asking law enforcement if he spoke English out of safety for the patient.

"You can provoke somebody by engaging an agitated patient," Ludwig said.

Pellow had Ludwig clarify there were no other witnesses on the scene of McClain's arrest, other than the Aurora police officers, to provide subjective information to the paramedics. And Ludwig testified the details that officers did tell Cooper and Cichuniec were "clearly" symptoms of excited delirium the basis for which the paramedics cited their reasoning to administer Ketamine to McClain.

One of the main points of debate in this case is the dose of Ketamine that McClain received based on his weight. The paramedics overestimated McClain's weight and gave him more than the 5 mg/kg dose that is prescribed in the Aurora Fire Rescue protocols.

After Pellow had Ludwig review the body-worn camera video of McClain's arrest in preparation for the trial, the defense attorney asked the witness if it appeared Cooper and Cichuniec had a scale on scene.

"I don't know anyone who carries a sale on a firetruck. There's no way of weighing patients in the field," Ludwig answered.

He elaborated that there were extenuating circumstances making it difficult to estimate McClain's weight at the scene, including it was dark, there were officers on top of him and Ludwig described McClain as wearing a "bulky" coat.

Pellow went through AFR protocols, showing Ludwig a diagram given to paramedics instructing them what to do if a patient is exhibiting signs of excited delirium. The recommendation is give the patient Ketamine.

"It's not optional. It's what the medical director wants them to do," Ludwig testified.

Throughout this case, the prosecution has called into question why the paramedics didn't reassess McClain by hooking him up to medical equipment before moving him to the ambulance.

Going through the AFR protocols during direct examination of Ludwig, Pellow asked Ludwig if the protocols specified where the reassessment must be done. To which Ludwig responded, "No, it does not."

Ludwig testified, the paramedics waiting to get vital signs until McClain was on the stretcher and back in the ambulance was "the optimal way to handle this situation." He said it would take multiple steps to leave him and get the equipment you need. Whereas you could just take him to the ambulance where all the equipment's at. "It's a well-lit environment. It's a controlled environment," Ludwig said.

And according to Ludwig's testimony, the AFR protocols direct paramedics using Ketamine to put on medical devices once the patient is sedated.

Cichuniec's defense attorney, Michael Lowe, asked Ludwig about what protocols dictate when it comes to who's responsible for scene safety when paramedics appear on scene and who that person was the night McClain was arrested. To which Ludwig answered, "Cichuniec."

The prosecution has drawn attention to Cichuniec appearing in BWC video down the street, not near McClain throughout the case.

When Lowe brought up the issue during his direct examination of Ludwig, the witness said, "I saw him [Cichuniec] observing the overall scene... The scene officer always has to maintain situational awareness."

After a quick break, Prosecutor Jason Slothouber conducted a cross examination of Ludwig, drawing on Ludwig's earlier testimony about the assessment of the patient paramedics perform.

He asked Ludwig about "therapeutic communication techniques" taught to paramedics to build rapport with their patient.

"I teach them to ask open-ended questions. Be compassionate," Ludwig said.

When pressed on whether Cooper or Cichuniec asked McClain open-ended questions, he replied, "If the patient's not making sense, there's no point asking."

The court took a mid-morning break just before 10:15 a.m. and returned at 10:30 a.m.

Slothouber revisited the protocol diagram the defense discussed with Ludwig, pointing to the step before administer Ketamine, which he said was "reasonably address the patient's concerns." The prosecutor pushed Ludwig to answer whether Cooper or Cichuniec addressed any medical conditions with McClain, which he confirmed they hadn't.

Ludwig was excused as the court took a break for lunch. The judge ordered everyone to return at 1:15 p.m.

After the break, the defense called on Dr. Srikanth Sundaram, a cardiologist with expertise in cardiac electrophysiology (the electrical functioning of the heart) at South Denver Cardiology.

Dr. Sundaram was asked to provide an anatomy lesson of the heart to jury and was asked about Dr. Cina's previous autopsy reports the first he published and the amended autopsy report and was asked by Pellow if Cina ever referenced a problem with McClain's left anterior descending artery (otherwise known as LAD). Sundaram said that Cina did note in his autopsy report, noting McClain's LAD was narrowed, "between 50%-75% of normal," according to Sundaram.

The defense then questioned Dr. Sundaram about heart spams and whether it could affect someone with a narrowed LAD.

"It basically mimics as a heart attack," the doctor said. "The patient will have the same exact symptoms."

As more questioning surrounding McClain's heart after the encounter with police and paramedics proceeded, Dr. Sundaram testified that McClain's troponin levels (a test to see how much damage the heart has suffered after an injury) showed signs consistent with a "very small heart attack or consistent with a cardiac spasm."

In cross examination, prosecutor Ann Joyce tried to poke holes in Dr. Sundaram's expert opinion after reading reports and opinions of other doctors and not because of a "medical degree of certainty."

"In your report, your opinion is based on the 'most likely' cause of death. It does not state to a 'reasonable degree of medical certainty.' In fact, your opinions are all stated in 'likely,' 'possibly.'

"Correct," Dr. Sundaram replied.

Joyce then questioned Dr. Sundaram if he asked to see microscopic slides of McClain's heart or whether he ever spoke to Dr. Cina himself to form his expert opinion about McClain's heart condition before the arrest and after the deadly encounter with police.

"I didnt know I could do that nor would I do that without the courts permission," he said.

Joyce then asked the doctor if the findings in the autopsy report eve show that there was a narrowing of the coronary artery.

"The findings dont even mention wraparound LAD?" she asked. "Correct," replied. "You also mention that McClain did not have collateral blood vessels?" she asked. Where in the reports, does it have this statement?"

"It does not have this statement," he replied.

On trying to poke holes at his testimony that McClain could have had a coronary spam, Joyce asked if McClain any of the main risks for coronary spams, which include being older, having diabetes or a high blood pressure.

Sundaram replied that McClain had none of these factors.

"You have no knowledge of McClain ever suffering from a coronary spam, do you?" Joyce asked.

"Correct," Dr. Sundaram replied.

"In your entire review of the UCHealth records, none of them say he had a coronary spam?" Joyce asked again. "Correct," he replied. "And youre the only one who says he had a coronary spam?"

"Yes," Dr. Sundaram said.

In the redirect, defense attorneys for Cichuniec asked about McClain's breathing and whether having a history of congenital heart problems can lead to breathing issues, to which Dr. Sundaram said heart spams is one of the issues he would look like from a patient complaining of difficulty breathing.

The witness was excused and the court then went on recess for the weekend. Testimony is expected to resume Monday at 8:30 a.m.

PREVIOUS DAYS OF THIS TRIAL:

Two paramedics are at the center of the third and final trial in the case of Elijah McClain's 2019 death, and both defendants face charges of reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault, plus sentence enhancers.

McClain, 23, was stopped by officers with the Aurora Police Department (APD) on Aug. 24, 2019 and following a violent encounter, died a few days later.

Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are accused of injecting a significant amount of ketamine into McClain. Medical experts have previously testified that he was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for somebody of his size. In previous trials, prosecutors said the carotid hold, which was applied by police before paramedics arrived, played a key role in his death, while defense attorneys argued that the cause of death was only the ketamine, and McClain would have survived the police encounter without the injection. The ketamine led to cardiac arrest. McClain was declared brain dead and died Aug. 30, 2019.

Previously, a jury found APD Officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, and former APD Officer Jason Rosenblatt, who was fired by the department less than a year after McClain's death, was acquitted of all charges. In the second trial, defendant APD Officer Nathan Woodyard was also found not guilty.

The trial for Cichuniec and Cooper is expected to last about a month.

Scroll down to read updates from the Dec. 14 proceedings.

Before the jury arrived in court, Thursdays processings began with a defense motion to dismiss counts related to if Cooper or Cichuniec acted with the intent to use ketamine as a deadly weapon. Cooper defense attorney Shana Beggan argued that the prosecution presented no evidence that either paramedic intended to use ketamine as a weapon and that theres been no proof of that in this case. The people on rebuttal said the evidence showed that the defendants used it as a weapon and they caused injury but Judge Mark Warner disagreed.

"With respect to whether or not the defendants Cooper and Cichuniec intended to use the ketamine as a weapon, which is the first step in the analysis of whether it's a deadly weapon, the evidence is not substantial and sufficient to support a conclusion by a reasonable mind beyond a reasonable doubt as to that element, said Judge Warner. The court will grant the motion with respect to counts 13 and 24 and the respective counts, he said, adding that the court would strike the sentence enhancers.

The charges of reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and assault remained.

After a break, the defense presented its first witness. Dr. Kennon Heard, MD., as an expert on toxicology. Heard is a professor and emergency medicine doctor at CU School of Medicine who also serves a Medical Toxicology Fellowship Director at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center.

Heard, who said he had given ketamine more than 100 times in hospital settings during his medical career, was asked by the defense to give an opinion as to the safety of the sedative in and out of hospital use. When asked by the defense if the amount of ketamine in Elijah McClains blood, while he was at the hospital, was a toxic amount, Heard replied no and that he was not aware of cases where someone stopped breathing from ketamine.

He also added he believed that ketamine has a wide safety margin and that giving more doesnt cause more of the same effect.Heard testified that he did not expect the amount of ketamine given to McClain would have caused a life-threatening effect.

On cross-examination, the prosecution pressed Dr. Heard on methods that should be followed during the administering of ketamine in hospital and non-hospital settings including patient assessments and monitoring of vitals like breathing and pulse after dosage.

The prosecution maintains this was not done when the sedative was given to McClain outside of the hospital.

The witness was excused and the court took its lunch recess.

Following the midday break, the defense presented its next expert witness in the area of forensic pathology. Dr. Ljubisa Drajovic, a chief medical examiner from Michigan who has performed thousands of death examinations, reviewed Elijah McClains autopsy reports.

Contradicting the prosecutions primary assertion as to ketamines alleged role in Elijah McClains death, Dr. Drajavoc testified that based upon his review he didnt believe it had any effect in this situation.

Dr. Drajovics testimony differed from prosecution witness Dr. Steven Cina, a forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on McClain and first listed the cause of death as undetermined and at a later date determined ketamine was a factor after reviewing body-worn camera video.

Dr. Drajovic testified that he believed before paramedics administered ketamine, McClain was aspirating during the confrontation with Aurora police officers. During the process of physical subdual, he vomited on several occasions, said Drajovic adding there was evidence of vomit on the mask McClain was wearing. This became a problem as he is getting more hypoxic, to the point he was handcuffed, he was continuing to exert physical activity by kicking. That was the first sign of the brain receiving less oxygen, Drajovic testified.

The defense asked him if McClain had already aspirated once paramedics arrived. By looking at officers body-worn camera footage, Dr. Drajovic said he had vomit and mucus coming out of his mouth and added that he could not see if McClain had any obstructions in his nose.

In previous medical testimony, it was noted during the autopsy that McClain displayed signs of a narrow left coronary artery near the heart. Dr. Cina had testified that he believed the artery was a contributing factor before having a full picture of what was going on.

Earlier in the trial, Dr. Cina testified that since then, the investigation showed he (McClain) was actually a distance runner and in good shape, so I dont believe the coronary artery really played a factor. I believe he was born with just a small artery and had different capillaries serving that portion of the heart.

In Thursdays testimony, Dr. Drajovic pointed to the fact that McClains small coronary artery was described in the autopsy report but there was no additional evidence provided by Dr. Cina. Asked by the defense what he would have liked to see he added: Photograph anything that is departing from normal and sample the area extensively later testifying that the heart or any organ could be preserved if there is a concern it could be tied to the cause of death.

Asked to explain the type of evidence in the autopsy hed expect to see if ketamine was the cause of death Dr. Drajovic testified he would expect the lungs to be filled with fluid and in McClains case, the autopsy showed McClains lungs exhibited an inflammatory response due to regurgitated gastric contents.

Before ketamine and during the struggle with officers, Dr. Drajovic said he noted from the body-worn footage that McClain was struggling to breathe. Clearly grunting and garbling on the part of Elijah McClain during the process he was held by the officers, he testified.

Dr. Drajovic was excused before the defense called its last witness of the day.

Gary Ludwig, a Missouri-based expert with 46 years of experience as a paramedic was called by the defense to testify to fire paramedic protocol and give insight into the different scenarios encountered by first responders outside of the hospital setting.

Ludwig, who estimated he has worked over 35,000 incidents, has worked in multiple firefighting and paramedic positions and rose to the level of Deputy Chief.

Broadly, Ludwig explained the order of priorities when responding to a situation as a paramedic stating that scene safety is the "First priority taught" not only for first responders but patients. "Victims cannot rescue victims," he said.

Ludwig testified in looking at Aurora Fire Rescue protocols he counted the word "safety" 16 times often in conjunction with the guidance when working with behavior health or combative patients.

In regards to excited delirium, which the defense has pointed to as a factor in McClain's death, Ludwig said it's not uncommon to see patients appear calm and then again become agitated. He added that in his opinion, excited delirium is life-threatening and without intervention, a patient could die.

Ludwig also testified it was common for medical first responders to rely upon information from officers. "No, we rely on what they are telling us." Prosecutors have criticized what they describe as paramedics' lack of action with Elijah McClain during his encounter with police.

When questioned by the defense if he could assess the condition without touching a patient he said "Correct, I could look at you and tell your ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation) are good."

Ludwig was excused as the court wrapped proceedings on Thursday. Ludwig's testimony is expected to continue at 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

PREVIOUS DAYS OF THIS TRIAL:

Two paramedics are at the center of the third and final trial in the case of Elijah McClain's 2019 death, and both defendants face charges of reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault, plus sentence enhancers.

McClain, 23, was stopped by officers with the Aurora Police Department (APD) on Aug. 24, 2019 and following a violent encounter, died a few days later.

Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are accused of injecting a significant amount of ketamine into McClain. Medical experts have previously testified that he was given a higher dose of ketamine than recommended for somebody of his size. In previous trials, prosecutors said the carotid hold, which was applied by police before paramedics arrived, played a key role in his death, while defense attorneys argued that the cause of death was only the ketamine, and McClain would have survived the police encounter without the injection. The ketamine led to cardiac arrest. McClain was declared brain dead and died Aug. 30, 2019.

Previously, a jury found APD Officer Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, and former APD Officer Jason Rosenblatt, who was fired by the department less than a year after McClain's death, was acquitted of all charges. In the second trial, defendant APD Officer Nathan Woodyard was also found not guilty.

The trial for Cichuniec and Cooper is expected to last about a month.

Scroll down to read updates from the Dec. 13 proceedings.

Wednesday morning's testimony began by calling Dr. Roger A. Mitchell to the stand. The forensic pathologist currently serves as chief medical officer for the Howard University Adult Ambulatory Care Center. He has been working on the McClain case for two and a half to three years.

He testified in the previous trial for Aurora officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt, as well as the trial for Aurora Officer Nathan Woodyard. In those trials, he was accepted as an expert in several fields, including forensic pathology, cause of death, in-custody death and excited delirium.

He was also accepted as an expert in those fields during the trial on Wednesday as well.

Mitchell recalled that when he first became involved in the case, McClain's cause of death was listed as undetermined. That could be for a myriad of reasons, Mitchell said, though he noted the rate of listing a cause of death as undetermined is less than 5% in credited offices.

Using the report from Dr. Cina's autopsy, Mitchell was able to name the cause of death as "complications following acute ketamine administration during violence subdual and restraint by law enforcement and emergency response personnel." The manner of death was homicide, he listed in his report.

Mitchell explained that chemical restraints, like ketamine, are used when a person has become unruly, violent, active or hard to restrain. He said there was no need for a chemical restraint in this case given McClain's condition just prior to the ketamine injection.

Theres no reason for it," he testified.

He listed out several things that first responders should have done prior to giving McClain the ketamine, which included measuring his breathing. By the time he was on the gurney, McClain did not have a clear airway and needed his mouth and nose suctioned to remove materials, Mitchell said.

The ketamine administration was listed in my cause of death as a cause, so those who administered that ketamine are responsible for the death," he said.

Prosecutors asked him what Mitchell had analyzed in this case. He explained the first thing he wanted to review was the autopsy report and all the findings from the forensic pathologist. He also said he wanted to look at photos and diagrams from the autopsy, as well as any available body tissue. He examined video footage, hospital records, previous medical records, statements and reports from other experts and more. Mitchell said he sought the expertise from a pulmonologist and anesthesiologist as well. Having done this, he said he felt he had a good picture of the autopsy, despite not being in the room for it back in 2019.

Based on his examination of those documents and materials, he determined there was evidence of aspiration meaning fluid from the stomach is in the lungs and food in McClain's airway. His body had reacted to this, meaning he was alive at the time, Mitchell said. He was able to rule out asthma as a factor in McClain's death because he did not have any mucus in his airway.

He also ruled out any heart issues, as McClain's heart was "relatively normal for his age," Mitchell said. Previous reports had noted a narrowed coronary artery, but Mitchell said if this had had an impact on McClain, his heart would have been diseased, scarring and looked different.

On the outside of his body, Mitchell noted multiple abrasions on McClain's body and face, as well as broken blood vessels in his eye, likely from the carotid hold, he said.

Hypoxia started his cascade downward during the altercation," he said.

The autopsy found that McClain's organs were in good condition. Because McClain was an organ donor, his kidneys were donated to a person in need, Mitchell said.

Aside from those documents, Mitchell also watched the body-worn camera footage, which provided a third-party objective view, he said. This was helpful because he didn't have to rely on reports to see what happened, Mitchell said.

Following a mid-morning break, defense attorney Michael K. Pellow, who represents paramedic Cooper, cross-examined Mitchell.

Pellow confirmed that McClain aspirated before Aurora Fire Rescue personnel arrived at the scene and that that contributed to his rapid deterioration. He also confirmed that this was while McClain was in custody of police.

Pellow asked if Mitchell heard in the BWC an officer ask McClain, "Hey, are you alright?" and no answer from McClain.

When asked, Mitchell confirmed that he diagnosed McClain without ever touching him or seeing him alive.

If ketamine had never been given to Mr. McClain, in your opinion, he might have died from what police officers did to him, right?" Pellow asked.

I dont know. He needed life-saving measures at that point," Mitchell responded.

Defense attorney David M. Goddard, who represents Paramedic Cichuniec, also cross-examined Mitchell.

Goddard asked if Mitchell still performs autopsies, and he said he did as recently as earlier this week. Goddard also asked about the compensation Mitchell was earning for his testimony across all three trials.

When asked, Mitchell said he believed that based on the records he looked at, staff in the ambulance and at the hospital attempted life-saving measures on McClain. But he said he did not hear any time in the body-worn camera footage any police officers relaying to paramedics that McClain had claimed he couldn't breathe.

The court then broke for a lunch break at noon.

After the break, Mitchell continued his testimony. Prosecutors asked if the actions of the paramedics caused MClain's death, Mitchell replied by saying "Yes." After his testimony, prosecutors told the judge they had no additional witnesses and that they will be resting their case.

The Judge excused the jury for the day and told them to return Thursday morning when the defense will start calling witnesses.

PREVIOUS DAYS OF THIS TRIAL: