Elijah McClain death: Aurora paramedics trial, EMT testifies

AURORA, Colo — After a several-day delay due to health concerns, testimony resumed Monday in the trial for two Aurora paramedics charged in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain.

Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are each charged with reckless manslaughter and assault.

Officers first contacted McClain on Aug. 24, 2019, after a teenage boy called 911 and relayed that he saw McClain wearing a coat and mask and acting “suspicious.” Within seconds, Nathan Woodyard, the first officer to arrive, grabbed McClain. He and officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt then took McClain to the ground in a struggle.

During the struggle, Woodyard used a carotid hold on McClain, a maneuver that caused him to lose consciousness briefly. Afterward, McClain was handcuffed and restrained on the ground for more than 10 minutes.

Later that same night, Cooper and Cichuniec injected McClain with ketamine. His heart stopped, and he later died.

On Monday, jurors heard from three witnesses including an EMT from Falk, the ambulance company that responded to the scene. In her testimony, Alisa Gonzalez disputed statements made by Cooper in a recorded interview with an Aurora Police investigator.

RELATED: Interviews with paramedics contradict body camera footage from incident with Elijah McClain

Last week, jurors were shown that video of Cooper’s statements where he claimed McClain was still “actively fighting” and even tried to walk up a grass embankment.

“Did you see any resistance by the patient when the ketamine was given to him?” asked prosecutor Ann Joyce.

“Not from my point of view,” Gonzalez said.

“Did you see him do anything?”

“Was he trying to actively get up at all?” Joyce asked.

“If the patient had tried to get up, would you have seen that, do you think?”

“Did you ever see the patient get up and try to walk up the sort of grassy embankment?”

RELATED: Testimony: Doctor received death threats after ruling cause of Elijah McClain’s death could not be determined

Prosecutors have argued that McClain’s health was deteriorating as a result of the struggle with officers, which included a carotid neck hold that cut off oxygen to his brain. After that, McClain vomited, inhaled some of it, and experienced a drop in oxygen in his body and a spike in acid in his bloodstream, according to previous testimony.

Instead of assessing McClain, prosecutors claim the paramedics chose to inject him 500 milligrams of ketamine – a dose much too large for someone of McClain’s size.

“During the short period of time that you’re waiting, [for the ketamine] did you ever see the patient become combative?” asked Joyce.

“Did you see any movements?”

“Did you see Mr. Cooper or Mr. Cichuniec checking the patient at all during this period of time?”

“Were they getting any kind of vital signs?”

“How about checking a blood pressure?”

“How about checking the patient’s heart rate?”

“Was anyone checking his airway?” Joyce asked.

Jurors also heard from a crime scene investigator with the Aurora Police Department who took photos to document the scene on the night McClain encountered officers. She also attended McClain’s autopsy and took photos.

McClain’s coworker at Massage Envy also took the stand Monday morning and told jurors that McClain was always “freezing” and often wore warm clothing, even in the heat of the summer.

She also told the jury that McClain was active and usually ran or biked to work and would exercise in the parking lot during his breaks.

The paramedics are the last two of the five men indicted in McClain’s death to go to trial. In the first trial, a jury returned a split verdict for Aurora officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt. Roedema was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault and will be sentenced in January. That same jury acquitted Rosenblatt of all charges.

A separate jury acquitted Aurora officer Nathan Woodyard. Following his acquittal he was eligible to return to Aurora Police and in late November the city confirmed he elected to reintegrate with the department and was on restricted duty.

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