The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. March 4, 2024 Paramedic Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Role in Death of Elijah McClain ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A judge in Colorado has sentenced a paramedic to five years in prison for his role in the 2019 death of Elijah Mc Clain, a 23-year-old Black young man who was walking home from the store when he was tackled by police, placed in a carotid hold and later injected with ketamine - a powerful sedative. The sentencing of Peter Cichuniec comes after he and another paramedic were found guilty in December of criminally negligent homicide for Mc Clain's death. During the trial, an expert witness testified there was "no reason" for the paramedics to give Mc Clain ketamine. They were also found to have failed to provide medical care to Mc Clain after they drugged him and he lay handcuffed and unconscious on the ground. .