A Colorado appeals court on Thursday reversed homicide convictions against two paramedics in the ketamine overdose death of Elijah McClain, ordering new trials for the Aurora Fire Rescue personnel.

The court overturned the criminally negligent homicide convictions of paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec while upholding Cichuniec's separate assault conviction. McClain, a 23-year-old Black massage therapist, died after being forcibly restrained by police and injected with ketamine by the paramedics in August 2019.

McClain had been walking home from a convenience store when police stopped him following a suspicious person complaint. During the encounter, McClain was placed in a neck hold by officers and said "I can't breathe" before paramedics administered the ketamine. He went into cardiac arrest and died days later.

A jury convicted both paramedics in December 2023 following a weeks-long trial. Cooper was sentenced to 14 months in jail with work release and probation, while Cichuniec received five years in prison. Cichuniec was released early in 2024 after a judge reduced his sentence to four years of probation, citing "unusual and extenuating circumstances" and noting he had to make quick decisions as the highest-ranking paramedic at the scene.

The appeals court cited flawed jury instructions regarding the criminally negligent homicide charges as the basis for reversing those convictions. The case will return to a lower court for new trials on the homicide charges, while Cichuniec's assault conviction remains intact.