A paramedic convicted in the 2019 Colorado death of Elijah McClain was sentenced to 14 months in a work-release program and four years of probation on Friday, Reuters reports. McClain, a Black 23-year-old, died after police slammed him to the ground after stopping him and putting him in a chokehold at least twice. Paramedics injected him with an excessive dose of ketamine, an anesthetic used for sedation, after police said he was in a state of "excited delirium." McClain was not suspected of wrongdoing when he was walking on the street and police stopped him. The sentencing of Jeremy Cooper, 49, who had faced up to three years in prison for criminally negligent homicide, closes out the three trials involving McClain's death. One police officer was sentenced to 14 months in jail, two officers were found not guilty, and Cooper's fellow paramedic was sentenced to five years in prison. Paramedics rarely face charges in such cases.
Colorado has implemented major police reforms in response to the killing of McClain and the racial justice protests after the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis. However, politicians and experts believe that additional actions are necessary. Colorado State Rep. Leslie Herod said that one of the most significant measures of a 2020 police reform bill she co-sponsored, requires officers to intervene if they witness a colleague committing civil rights violations. Now, Herod is working towards providing whistleblower protections for police officers. She believes that new laws should guarantee an independent investigation of allegations against police officers. Since the death of McClain, Colorado has prohibited chokeholds, restricted police officers from pushing paramedics to use ketamine on suspects, and the banned police trainers from instructing on "excited delirium," which some experts call a racially charged pseudo-diagnosis.