Shelly Bradbury
The Denver Post
BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. 鈥� A Colorado paramedic is facing rare criminal charges after he sedated and restrained a man who had been arrested by police last year, 鈥渞eckless acts鈥� that led to the 36-year-old鈥檚 death, Boulder County鈥檚 district attorney announced Friday.
Paramedic Edward McClure , 54, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and forgery in the December death of Jesus Lopez Barcenas, two days after he was taken into custody.
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The criminal case comes nearly six years after , a 23-year-old Black man, died after Aurora police restrained him and a paramedic injected him with the sedative ketamine. McClain鈥檚 death prompted that limited the way paramedics could use in an attempt to prevent similar deaths.
McClure used a different drug, , to sedate Barcenas, according to a police affidavit.
Barcenas was arrested by police officers from the Boulder and University of Colorado police departments on Dec. 27, 2024 . Campus police officers responded to CU鈥檚 Center for Innovation and Creativity , at 1777 Exposition Drive , after a worker there reported that Barcenas was acting strangely.
When campus officers arrived, Barcenas was shouting about people dying inside the building and the building being on fire, according to a 30-page affidavit filed against McClure. Barcenas was hitting a fire alarm with his cellphone. The building was not on fire.
Campus police attempted to arrest Barcenas and put him in handcuffs at 8:26 p.m. A fight ensued, according to the affidavit, and the officers called Boulder police for help. One officer reported that Barcenas tried to grab the officer鈥檚 gun during the struggle. Officers eventually were able to handcuff Barcenas, according to the affidavit.
They called for two ambulances 鈥� one for an officer who鈥檇 hurt his ankle during the arrest, and one for Barcenas, who was still speaking nonsensically and yelling.
When paramedics arrived at 8:34 p.m. , McClure spoke to Barcenas from about three feet away as officers continued to restrain the man. He did not touch Barcenas or ask the man how he was feeling. McClure also did not ask officers what happened, according to the affidavit.
After a brief conversation with Barcenas in which the man did not speak coherently, McClure injected Barcenas with 5 mg of Droperidol. Barcenas was handcuffed, restrained by police and lying on his stomach when McClure injected him through a hole in his pants, according to the affidavit.
The officers, McClure and an EMT put Barcenas on a gurney. They laid him on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back, then used additional restraints on his ankles and strapped seatbelt-like restraints across his body.
鈥淣ow let鈥檚 strap the crap out of him,鈥� McClure said, according to the affidavit. He instructed the EMT with him to keep Barcenas in a prone position.
鈥淛ust keep him face-down, I don鈥檛 care,鈥� McClure said, according to the affidavit.
Transporting a handcuffed patient in that position is dangerous and forbidden by the ambulance company鈥檚 policy, according to the affidavit. A person restrained in a prone position is unable to safely exhale, which can cause carbon dioxide to rapidly rise in a person鈥檚 blood, which can lead to death.
Barcenas was put in the back of the ambulance at 8:46 p.m. At some point, prosecutors allege McClure placed a 鈥渟pit sock鈥� covering over Barcenas鈥� head, even though the man was not spitting on anyone.
By 8:55 p.m. , the ambulance crew updated their status to an emergency because Barcenas suffered a heart attack. Two minutes later, McClure can be seen on a body-worn camera doing CPR on Barcenas. He did not recover.
Barcenas died two days later.
鈥楾ragic and untimely death鈥�
The Boulder County Coroner鈥檚 Office found he died from 鈥渟udden cardiac arrest following a prolonged physical altercation and struggle, which included prone positioning and the use of restraints and a sedative,鈥� according to the affidavit. The coroner鈥檚 office determined that 鈥渢he toxic effects of methamphetamine contributed to his death.鈥�
McClure was arrested Friday. He was booked into the Boulder County jail and then released after posting bail. He couldn鈥檛 be reached for comment.
Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a news release Friday that he found the police officers鈥� use of force to be within the law during Barcenas鈥� arrest, but that McClure鈥檚 鈥渞eckless acts鈥� led to the man鈥檚 death.
鈥淭he prone positioning, positioning of the gurney, and the use of the restraints and spit sock by Paramedic McClure is alleged to have caused the tragic and untimely death of Mr. Barcenas,鈥� Dougherty wrote in a Friday letter that cleared the police officers of wrongdoing.
McClure is also accused of attempting to change his patient care reports in order to cover up his actions and being dishonest during interviews with his supervisors about the incident. He claimed that he could not take certain care steps in the ambulance because Barcenas was combative, when, in fact, the man was barely moving, according to the affidavit.
McClure was fired by American Medical Response on Dec. 30, 2024 , according to the affidavit.
鈥榁irtually unheard of鈥�
It鈥檚 extremely rare but not unprecedented for an emergency medical provider to be charged with crimes related to patient care, said Howard Paul , communications director for the .
鈥淚t鈥檚 virtually unheard of,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 extraordinarily rare.鈥�
Emergency medical service providers across the country watched closely when two paramedics were charged with crimes in McClain鈥檚 2019 death, he said.
One of the paramedics who handled McClain鈥檚 care was convicted of and assault. A the paramedic鈥檚 just six months after it started.
McClain鈥檚 killing also around the term 鈥渆xcited delirium,鈥� a disputed condition that describes someone exhibiting extreme agitation to the point where they are a danger to themselves and others.
McClure underwent training on restraining combative patients in August 2024 , according to the affidavit, though he denied going through that training during an interview with his supervisors 鈥� until he was shown his signature on a class roster.
鈥淥h yeah, that is the whole, 鈥榊ou can鈥檛 say 鈥榚xcited delirium鈥� or whatever training,鈥� he said, according to the affidavit.
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