By Colleen Slevin and Mead Gruver
Associated Pres
DENVER 鈥� A Colorado paramedic convicted in the death of , a Black man whose name became part of the rallying cries for social justice that swept the U.S. in 2020, is being released from prison after a judge reduced his sentence to four years of probation Friday.
Judge Mark Warner said during his ruling that Peter Cichuniec had to make quick decision the night of the arrest as the highest-ranking paramedic at the scene, the . He also noted a background of no previous criminal history and good character for Cichuniec, who had an 18-year-career as a firefighter and paramedic before he was convicted.
Warner held that the case had 鈥渦nusual and extenuating circumstances,鈥� in reference to a part of Colorado鈥檚 mandatory sentencing law, which allows a court to modify a sentence after a defendant has served least 119 days in prison if the judge finds such circumstances.
McClain was walking down the street in a Denver suburb in 2019 when police responding to a suspicious person report forcibly restrained him and put him in a neck hold. 鈥� 鈥淚 can鈥檛 breathe鈥� 鈥� foreshadowed those of a year later in Minneapolis.
Cichuniec and a fellow paramedic were of criminally negligent homicide for injecting McClain with ketamine, a powerful sedative blamed for killing the 23-year-old massage therapist. Cichuniec also was convicted on a more serious charge of second-degree assault for giving a drug without consent or a legitimate medical purpose. The other paramedic , sentenced instead to 14 months in jail with work release and probation.
McClain鈥檚 death and others have raised questions about the use of ketamine to subdue struggling suspects, and the prosecution sent through the ranks of paramedics across the U.S.
The case has already achieved a 鈥渄eterrence effect鈥� to discourage similar crimes, Warner said in the hearing in Denver.
The ruling by Warner, the same judge who handed down the prison sentence in March, will release Cichuniec from a prison on the northeastern Colorado plains, though exactly when was not immediately clear.
鈥淧ete is coming home!鈥� Cichuniec鈥檚 supporters cried out after Warner reduced the sentence at the hearing, according to the Post. They declined to comment to the newspaper.
Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser said in a statement that he was disappointed in the reduced sentence but respected the court鈥檚 decision.
Candice Bailey, a police reform advocate in the Denver suburb of Aurora who helped raise awareness about McClain鈥檚 death and pushed for charges to be brought, called Cichuniec鈥檚 sentence reduction 鈥渄isturbing.鈥�
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e talking about a life being taken and that this individual was found guilty of that, and then we see something like a sentence being vacated and a person being put on probation 鈥� put on probation 鈥� it is absolutely mind boggling to me,鈥� she said.
The president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, which had warned that Cichuniec鈥檚 conviction would set a chilling precedent for paramedics and firefighters, said it was relieved by the ruling.
鈥淧ete Cichuniec did not belong behind bars,鈥� Edward Kelly said in a statement. 鈥淲e will always prioritize and advocate for the public鈥檚 safety and our members鈥� ability to do their jobs without fear of ill-conceived criminal prosecutions.鈥�
McClain鈥檚 mother, Sheneen McClain, declined via email to comment Friday. In March she celebrated the original sentence handed down by the judge as she left the courtroom that day, raising her fist in the air.
