(Los Angeles) One of the two rescuers responsible for the death of Elijah McClain, a young African-American into whom they had injected ketamine after his arrest in 2019, was sentenced Friday to 14 months on semi-release.
Under this hybrid regime, paramedic Jeremy Cooper will be allowed to work during the day, but will have to return to prison in the evenings and weekends, a Colorado court has ruled. This sentence will be supplemented by four years of suspended prison time.
Mr Cooper was found guilty of manslaughter in December, along with his colleague Peter Cichuniec.
PHOTO ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jeremy Cooper
The two paramedics were at the center of a case which has caused controversy in recent years in the United States.
In August 2019, Elijah McClain, 23, was put in a neck lock and then forcibly injected with ketamine, a powerful sedative, during an arrest in Aurora, Colorado.
He died three days later of a heart attack.
His death only attracted media attention after that of George Floyd, another African-American killed during a police intervention in May 2020, brought his case, and others, back into the spotlight. spotlights.
At trial, the first responders’ lawyers argued that they were merely following protocol in administering ketamine to Mr. McClain.
A defense swept aside by the prosecution, which criticized them for not having spoken to the victim nor having checked their vital signs before administering the product.
The use of this powerful sedative by first responders to tranquilize people against their will has sparked controversy in the United States and has led to the opening of investigations in several American states.
“There was no indication that Elijah needed ketamine, and you heard many experts say that the administration of this substance had no medical purpose,” denounced the prosecutor.
“The defendants never did anything to obtain Elijah McClain’s consent to any treatment, and no reasonable person would consent to an overdose of a medication they did not need,” she said. for follow-up.
In January, one of the three police officers involved in the arrest of Mr. McClain was sentenced to 14 months in prison. Tried separately, the two other police officers were acquitted.
On the day of the incident, police were called by a person describing a “suspicious” black man wearing a ski mask and “behaving strangely” on a street in Aurora.
A police officer claimed that Elijah McClain, who was not carrying any weapon, tried to grab his revolver during the intervention.
According to the victim’s family, he had simply gone out to buy an iced tea and often wore this ski mask so as not to be cold, because he suffered from anemia.