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Peter Cichuniec, an Aurora, Colo. paramedic with 18 years of service, was the lead paramedic on the ground on August 24, 2019, during a routine stop of a suspect by police.
The suspect, 23-year-old Elijah McClain, was stopped by police as a result of a 911 call saying that a black man acting « sketchy » was walking down the street « waving his arms. »
McClain was clean. He had no police record. Nevertheless, the cops tried to restrain the young man, eventually putting him in two separate chokeholds. Fifteen minutes after the police tried to restrain him, Cichuniec arrived on scene with his partner.
One of the cops told the paramedics that McClain was “acting crazy,” that he was “definitely on something,” and that he had attacked officers when they tried to restrain him. They also said that he had “incredible, crazy strength,” and that at one point three officers were on top of him.
None of that was true. But Cichuniec decided to sedate him anyway. Given that he believed McCalin was « on something » he gave him a dose of ketamine for a 190 lb man. McClain was 140 lbs.
McClain’s heart stopped on the way to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
