A Colorado paramedic convicted in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man whose name became part of the rallying cries for social justice that swept the U.S. in 2020, is being released from prison after a judge reduced his sentence to four years of probation Friday.
Judge Mark Warner ruled that 鈥渦nusual and extenuating circumstances鈥� in the case justified reducing the five-year prison sentence for Peter Cichuniec, The Denver Post reported.
Warner is the same judge who sentenced Cichuniec to prison in March.
McClain was walking down the street in a Denver suburb in 2019 when police responding to a suspicious person report forcibly restrained him and put him in a neck hold. 鈥� 鈥淚 can鈥檛 breathe鈥� 鈥� foreshadowed those of a year later in Minneapolis.
Cichuniec and a fellow paramedic were of criminally negligent homicide for injecting McClain with ketamine, a powerful sedative blamed for killing the 23-year-old massage therapist. Cichuniec also was convicted on a more serious charge of second-degree assault for giving a drug without consent or a legitimate medical purpose.
McClain鈥檚 death and others have raised questions about the use of ketamine to subdue struggling suspects, and the prosecution sent through the ranks of paramedics across the U.S.
鈥淎fter considering the evidence, a statewide grand jury indicted Cichuniec and a jury of his peers found him guilty of his criminal acts that led to the death of Elijah McClain. We are disappointed the court reduced his sentence today, but we respect the court鈥檚 decision,鈥� the office of Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser said in a statement.
Colorado鈥檚 mandatory sentencing law allows a court to modify a sentence after a defendant has served least 119 days in prison if the judge finds the case is exceptional and involves 鈥渦nusual and extenuating circumstances.鈥�
McClain鈥檚 mother, Sheneen McClain, declined via email to comment Friday. In March she celebrated the original sentence handed down by the judge as she left the courtroom that day, raising her fist in the air.