Paramedics Charged with First-Degree Murder After Patient Dies at Hospital
Two emergency medical services workers face first-degree murder charges for the December death of a patient they transported to a hospital.
Peter Cadigan and Peggy Finley face charges over the Dec. 18 death of Earl Moore Jr. in Springfield, Illinois, according to WSAZ-TV.
The murder charges stemmed from Moore being placed face down on a stretcher with a strap across his back en route to the hospital.
Two Illinois EMS workers CHARGED with murder in death of patient strapped face-down on stretcher.
Earl L. Moore Jr died on Dec. 18, shortly after EMS workers strapped him onto a stretcher face-down: @marlenelenthang, @NBCNews https://t.co/otYLM7W5dx pic.twitter.com/pr5AKsSHdi— Shomari Stone (@shomaristone) January 13, 2023
Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said, according to an autopsy, Moore died from “compressional and positional asphyxia due to prone face-down restraint on a paramedic transportation cot/stretcher by tightened straps across the back.”
Moore’s death was ruled a homicide.
“Following the arrival of EMS, Earl Moore Jr. became the victim of acts which caused his death at the hands of individuals called by police to provide emergency medical care,” Sangamon County State’s attorney Dan Wright said, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Video of the incident in question shows that police were called to Moore’s residence and later summoned the EMS workers.
WARNING: The following video contains content some viewers may find disturbing.
“It is clear based on the officer’s body-worn camera footage that the patient was not able to walk and the medical personnel were not offering any assistance,” Springfield Police Chief Ken Scarlette said, according to UPI.
“The three officers took turns helping the patient through the residence and onto the stretcher outside,” Scarlette said.
“The men and women of the Springfield Police Department join the Springfield community in grieving the unnecessary loss of life and pledge to work with the medical care providers in our area to ensure the citizens of Springfield receive the utmost care and consideration in their time of need,” Scarlette said.
The lawyer that represented Cadigan and Finley at their bond hearing said the case was highly unusual.
“These are two good people that find themselves in a very odd criminal case,” D. Peter Wise said, according to The Washington Post.
Want to hear some #DiedSuddenlyNews ?
Black Man died at hands of 2 White Paramedics in USA
They strapped him FACE DOWN on a Gurney & he suffocated to death
You’d think after George Floyd – First Responders would learn by now #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/bhIHiffH2g
— G.T. Lem (@gtlem) January 13, 2023
Teresa Haley, president of the Springfield chapter of the NAACP, said race was the reason the white EMS workers did what they did to Moore, who is black, according to the Illinois Times and likened the incident to the death of George Floyd.
“It was almost worse,” she said. “If this guy was already … having difficulties breathing, and then you put him on a stretcher face-down it was hostile to see the video and how they treated him. They literally threw his hands behind and just strapped him down. He couldn’t move if he wanted to.”
“I don’t think anybody shows up on the scene wanting someone dead,” she said. “I think they showed up on the scene not wanting to provide the adequate care that this individual needed. I mean, it was obvious that they didn’t want to be there. … They did not show any compassion whatsoever to this individual. And when you all go back and watch the video, I’m sure you’ll come to the same conclusion.”
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