Four top state officials, including Gov. Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser, were censured by International Association of Fire Fighters for prosecuting two Aurora paramedics last year. The paramedics administered a lethal dose of ketamine to Elijah McClain.
The criminal prosecutions and ultimate convictions were among the first of their kind nationally for on-duty conduct for paramedics.
Former Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper were convicted by an Adams County jury of criminally negligent homicide after giving McClain, a 23-year-old Black massage therapist, a fatal dose of ketamine in 2019 and also not doing enough to help him while he struggled on the ground in distress in handcuffs.
At an international convention held last week, the international fire fighters union resolved to censure Polis, Weiser, Assistant Attorney General Jason Slothouber and Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson.
Slothouber and Stevenson tried the case against Cooper and Cichuniec on behalf of the Colorado Department of Law.
“This resolution serves as a formal expression of disapproval and a call for these individuals to take full responsibility for their actions, to rectify the wrongs committed and to ensure that such injustices are never repeated in the state of Colorado,” the resolution, submitted by Aurora Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 1290, said.
It was unanimously adopted at the convention, amid dozens of other resolutions censuring or admonishing public officials, fire chiefs, coroners, mayors and others for not supporting firefighters on the job, according to the IAFF website. The resolution is ceremonial in nature and has no binding power or authority.
Travis Pulliam, the president of AFR Local 1290 said in a statement to CPR News that they were calling for “exoneration of Brothers Cichuniec and Cooper.”
Pulliam said in the statement that McClain’s initial autopsy was an undetermined cause of death, but that Polis appointed Weiser to prosecute his death regardless, which meant he chose “politics over public safety.”
“An autopsy that stood unchallenged for 18 months was changed, the delivery of medical care was criminalized, and two firefighter/paramedics who followed department protocols and their training were found guilty of a crime they didn’t commit,” the written statement said.
Cichuniec was also convicted of an unlawful administration of drugs charge and has been incarcerated since the December conviction. He is scheduled to appear in court in a couple of weeks where attorneys are expected to argue that he has served enough time.
Cooper’s sentencing has been delayed pending an appeal and he has yet to serve any prison time.
Weiser’s office had no comment because of pending appeals, but a spokesperson for Polis said that he supports local law enforcement and first responders.
“While there is no way to bring Elijah McClain back. Gov. Polis stands by his decision to appoint Attorney General Weiser as the special prosecutor in this case to ensure justice. Elijah McClain’s death was a tragedy and was unnecessary, and the governor hopes that no other parents have to go through what Elijah McClain’s family did.”
His office also pointed out that he signed legislation earlier this year to remove the term “excited delirium” from law enforcement and emergency responder training and death certificates. He also signed a law in 2021 to limit the use of ketamine for restraint.
