Mixed reactions to sentence being vacated for former Colorado paramedic involved in Elijah McClain's death

News of former Aurora paramedic Peter Cichuniec having his prison sentence vacated was met with mixed reactions both in Colorado and beyond. Cichuniec -- one of the paramedics involved in the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain in Colorado in 2019 -- was convicted and sentenced in March to five years in prison but had his sentence reduced to probation on Friday.

Thomas Mayes, the vice president of the NAACP for Colorado, Wyoming and Montana says his community had no idea Cichuniec was even trying to get his sentence vacated.

So late Friday afternoon when he learned one of the men found guilty of contributing to the death of McClain would soon be getting out of prison, he felt a rush of emotions.

"Anger and hurt, mixed together; those things I've felt personally and for my community, I was just blown away," said Mayes.

He says McClain's mother Sheneen McClain is even more heartbroken.

"I know she's not healed, and this kind of pulls the scab off the wound. It was healing," said Mayes.

A jury found Cichuniec guilty of criminally negligent homicide last year. In a motion to reduce his sentence, his attorneys wrote that Cichuniec is "an individual of good character," "an individual with no history of violence and no prior criminal history" "and is not an ongoing risk to the public."

Mayes says to give Cichuniec his freedom based on that is unfair because Elijah McClain was all those things and more.

"He was a good citizen. He was a member of our community, a good member of our community. He continued to give back. He even embraced animals. I mean, everything that you can call good about a person," said Mayes. "How many chances did Elijah get? He begged for his life. So when I look at that, his character means absolutely nothing to me."

Cichuniec's attorneys also argued that he was only convicted of being a complicitor and his co-defendants, who had more significant roles in the death of McClain, are serving much more lenient sentences. 

Cichuniec will now face a sentence of four years on probation.

CBS News Colorado has tried to reach out to the Cichuniec family but hasn't heard back. In a statement, International Association of Fire Fighters President Edward A. Kelly writes, "while nothing can undo the tragic events of Mr. McClain's death, the IAFF is relieved that the court recognized the need for fairness and justice in this case."

Mayes says this reignites his community's desire for justice. Mayes says The NAACP says they will not stop working peacefully until they get justice for Elijah.

"I believe in my heart it's an injustice," he said. "And from injustice, it's really the birthplace of, unrest. And unrest produces protests and unfortunately, sometimes protests turn into violence. And that's what we've tried to make sure doesn't happen."