Paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with ketamine, resulting in his death, avoids prison

Paramedic Jeremy Cooper, who injected Elijah McClain with ketamine during an August 2019 police stop that led to the 23-year-old’s death, was sentenced on Friday to probation – marking the end to a series of trials and sentencings for officers and EMTs involved

Paramedic Jeremy Cooper on the left, Elijah McClain on the right (AP/via Reuters)

A former Colorado paramedic has avoided a prison sentence, instead sentenced on Friday to probation following his criminally negligent homicide conviction in connection with the 2019 death of Elijah McClain – whose heart stopped after he was injected with ketamine during a police stop.

Jeremy Cooper was an Aurora Fire Rescue EMT responding to the scene on 24 August 2019 after a 911 call reporting someone “looking sketchy” in a ski mask. That person was 32-year-old McClain, later described by a friend as “the sweetest, purest person I have ever met,” who was walking home from a convenience store after buying an iced tea.

Almost immediately upon the officers’ arrival, McClain, an unarmed Black man, was violently arrested, placed in a chokehold and later injected with ketamine – after which he went into cardiac arrest, dying days later.

Sheneen McClain, Elijah McClain's mother, in 2023. (Associated Press)

Cooper’s sentencing brought to a close a number of trials stretching over seven months, leading to the convictions of a police officer and two paramedics – the latter of which rarely face charges in police proceedings.

Former paramedic Peter Cichuniec was sentenced in March to five years in prison for criminally negligent homicide and second-degree assault. Officer Randy Roedema was sentenced in January to 14 months in jail for criminally negligent homicide and misdemeanor assault.

Former Aurora cop Jason Rosenblatt was found not guilty in October of manslaughter and assault. Officer Nathan Woodyard – who prosecutors argued placed McClain in a chokehold within seconds of his arrival on scene – was found not guilty in November of criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter. He had been suspended from the department until the acquittal and briefly returned to work before resigning two months later in January.

McClain’s death became a rallying cry in the wake of protests against police brutality sparked by the 2020 killing of George Floyd. Prosecutors initially declined to pursue charges in McClain’s case after an autopsy did not determine how he died – but Democratic Gov. Jared Polis ordered the investigation reopened following 2020 protests.

The second autopsy said McClain died because he was injected with ketamine after being forcibly restrained.