The former Aurora paramedic who injected a 23-year-old unarmed Black man with ketamine that ultimately killed him was sentenced today to 14 months with work release and four years of probation and community service.
State Judge Mark Warner addressed Cooper before sentencing him.
“The bodycam videos were painful to watch … It was clear from the videos that Elijah McClain was in an acute medical condition prior to the injection.
The life of Elijah McClain mattered and matters.
After the court was dismissed, Sheneen McClain had some strong, angry words for the outcome outside of the Adams County courthouse in Brighton.
Cooper’s wife recalled the night McClain died and how distraught Cooper was when he told her about it.
“There wasn’t justice for Elijah McClain.
He said that the NAACP stands with Sheneen McClain.
In addition to four years of probation and community service, the former Aurora paramedic who fatally injected ketamine into the unarmed, 23-year-old Black man’s body was sentenced to 14 months with work release.
Following a violent altercation with police, Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, was walking home from the convenience store when Jeremy Cooper, 49, forcibly gave him an overdose of the potent sedative. He was never thought to have committed any offenses.
McClain was restrained and wearing handcuffs at the time. He lost consciousness and eventually his pulse in the ambulance after receiving a ketamine injection in his shoulder. In the hospital, McClain passed away a few days later.
Prior to Cooper’s sentencing, State Judge Mark Warner spoke. He said that the former paramedic should have stepped in to help, but he refrained from doing so.
“It was excruciating to watch the bodycam footage. It was evident that Elijah McClain was in critical condition before receiving the injection. Elijah McClain’s life was significant and still is. The way things turned out is nearly unimaginable, according to Warner. “A young man passed away with absolutely no explanation. It was not necessary for it to occur. It could have gone very differently. “.
Warner stated that while he thought Cooper was remorseful and that he trusted his service history, he didn’t see that on the night that McClain came into contact with the police.
On work release, convicted offenders are usually able to spend the days and nights in jail while working outside of it. However, it was not immediately clear on Friday if Cooper would actually be imprisoned for any period of time. Adams County probation officials, according to the prosecution, should make that decision.
Cooper’s charge of criminally negligent homicide was upheld by an Adams County jury in 2018. In addition, due to his authorization of the ketamine, his supervisor, Peter Cichuniec, was found guilty of second-degree assault and criminally negligent homicide.
Five first responders were charged by the state attorney general’s office with McClain’s death, and Friday’s sentencing is the result of years of hearings, trials, and delays. In three trials held last year, three of the five—an officer and the two paramedics who gave the sedative—were found guilty.
Cichuniec received a sentence earlier this year that included three years of parole and five years in state prison.
Standing outside the Adams County courthouse in Brighton, Sheneen McClain expressed her displeasure with the outcome following the dismissal of the court.
He is and always will be filthy. Outside the courthouse, McClain declared, “What he does doesn’t matter.”. “Anything that other people do to clean their hands of my sons’ blood is irrelevant. It’s there already. Dirty. “.
As McClain was making his way home from a convenience store carrying a bag of iced teas in August 2019, Aurora police received a report about a suspicious person.
He was forced to the ground and placed under arrest by three Aurora officers. Before he passed out in the ambulance, paramedics on the scene gave him the sedative. They had already given him two carotid holds, which stopped blood flow to his brain.
Sheneen McClain, visibly upset, told the judge in a tearful Friday hearing how Cooper’s actions that evening had taken away her son and permanently altered her life.
She uttered, “Eternal shame on you all.”. “As I watch the videos of my son’s murder over and over, I wonder why no one looked within to find the courage to act morally. Jeremy Cooper didn’t inquire as to how my son was holding up under the weight of a monster. “.
Before Cooper was sentenced, he addressed Elijah McClain from the bench.
“I have so much I want to say,”. Tearfully, he said, “I want you to know how sorry I am that I couldn’t save you.”. Elijah, I always intended for you to be hurt by no one. I sincerely apologize to you all for our collective failure. “.
“I just wanted to be of assistance,” he said. Forever after, I shall bear the consequences of this evening’s choices and carry your spirit within my heart. “.
Sheneen McClain, McClain’s mother, and a few of her supporters left the courtroom at that point, and Cooper’s family and supporters started crying.
Sheneen later stood before the judge and addressed Cooper, saying, “Your attempts to disrespect me by evoking the name of my son to absolve you of your own sinful nature.”. It all demonstrates how your culture will not alter since you see nothing wrong with what you have done. “.
Warner was also addressed by Cooper’s family and coworkers, who related tales of his bravery while serving as an Aurora Fire Rescue paramedic and his generosity as a father of three children at home.
He treated patients and spoke about them with integrity, according to his wife, Tarrah Cooper.
“Jeremy’s mantra was, ‘It doesn’t matter what time it is, how tired you are, how they look, how they smell, or how they act. She declared, “These are human beings, and they should be treated with respect.”.
The evening of McClain’s death, Cooper’s wife remembered how shaken he was to tell her.
She addressed the judge with tears in her eyes and begged for her husband to be spared. Don’t take a . that fits perfectly, please. from his residence as a public servant. “.
Former Cooper colleague Kathleen Hancock, a Black firefighter, admitted that it was difficult for her to be there when Sheneen was standing a few feet away, listening. However, she claimed to be aware of Cooper’s heart and to know that he often considered what had transpired that evening.
Without a doubt, she stated, “every day he wakes up, every day he goes to bed, every second, every minute, every hour.”. “What actions could I have taken to improve or alter my performance?”.
Dr. Cooper’s supervisor and medical director at Aurora Fire Rescue, Eric Hill, clarified Cooper’s feelings following McClain’s cardiac arrest. According to Hill, Cooper worked an extended shift in an attempt to ascertain what went wrong.
According to Hill, “it wasn’t a guy who wanted to shed the problem.”. He desired for his patient to be freed from the circumstance because they are human and should be treated with dignity. This is the real Jeremy; this is his essence. “.
During the trial, Assistant Attorney General Jason Slothouber, who was leading the prosecution, referred to the video from the internal affairs investigation that showed Cooper making up details about what happened that night, including that McClain was attempting to get up and crawl away. McClain remained calm.
He remarked, “It was detached from reality.”. Mr. Dot Cooper needs to bear primary accountability for the decisions he made, including not keeping an eye on Elijah and doing nothing for six minutes before they discovered he had passed away. “.
Slothouber gave Cooper’s life of service recognition.
“Even the prosecution admits his prior service, which only heightens the tragedy that Elijah McClain’s villain is another story’s hero,” he said.
Friday’s sentencing is the last in a lengthy chapter, according to Attorney General Phil Weiser’s email statement.
Weiser said in the statement, “With this sentence, we have a measure of justice for Elijah McClain, his family, and loved ones, and we now have accountability for another defendant who failed to act the way the law requires.”. But for there to be true justice, Elijah would still be alive today. The tragedy of his death was needless. “.
The community members who received a lighter sentence are disappointed as well.
Justice was not served to Elijah McClain. We have to keep pushing for accountability for any public safety officer who misuses their authority and for reforms in public safety. Omar Montgomery, the president of the NAACP Aurora Chapter, stated on Friday afternoon that “we are still far behind in our efforts for true public safety reform.”.
The NAACP, he said, is in support of Sheneen McClain.
