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Jurors will return Thursday morning to begin deliberating the fate of two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics who injected Elijah McClain with ketamine after a struggle with three Aurora officers in 2019. McClain's heart stopped and he later died.
Prosecutors argued in their closing arguments Wednesday that Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec ignored the risks to McClain with every decision they made on Aug. 24, 2019.
"There was not one reason that the defendants needed to make any one of these terrible decisions. There was no justification not to assess Mr. McClain," said prosecutor Shannon Stevenson. "There was no justification to give someone who is not moving a sedative. There is no justification to ignore a lifeless patient for six minutes before you try to take his pulse."
The paramedics' attorneys contend the men followed their training, which told them ketamine was safe and that McClain was suffering from excited delirium.
"They were following their training. They were following their protocols," said Michael Pellow, Cooper's attorney. "They were instructed about the wide margin of safety. Ketamine is safe, excited delirium is dangerous. That's what it comes down to."
The trial for Cooper and Cichuniec began on Nov. 29. Both men are charged with reckless manslaughter and two counts of assault related to McClain's death. If convicted on all counts, sentencing ranges from probation to a maximum of 16 years.