Two first responders in Illinois have been charged with first-degree murder after a coroner’s report and body camera footage revealed how a patient died in their care.
EMS workers Peter Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Finley, 44, were charged with murder after the coroner ruled that 35-year-old patient Earl Moore, Jr. died from compressional and positional asphyxia, The Kansas City Star reported. His death, Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allman stated, was the result of being improperly restrained on the stretcher — face down with straps tightened across his back, the outlet reported.
An autopsy found that Earl Moore Jr. died of compressional and positional asphyxia due to prone facedown restraint on a stretcher. https://t.co/MFN4B8wb41
— 25 News WEEK (@25NewsWEEK) January 11, 2023
Emergency personnel were called to Moore’s home on Dec. 18 because the victim was suffering from hallucinations. Moore’s relatives told police that Moore was not under the influence of any substance but was detoxing, according to KWTX.
Body camera footage of Cadigan and Finley show the two demanding Moore “sit up,” with Finley saying at one point, “You know what, I’m not playing. Sit up, quit acting stupid.” Moore was then helped out of the home and placed on the stretcher, apparently face down. (RELATED: Police Officer Resigns After Body Cam Video Allegedly Shows Him Body Slamming Woman)
Springfield NAACP President Teresa Haley said the footage showed a lack of compassion for Moore from the EMS personnel.
“For me, it’s not about him being a black man. It could have been a white family. If we were called in, we would have the same opinion. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect,” she said, according to NPR Illinois.
“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 Attorney said, according to the Kansas City Star.
Cadigan and Finley were arrested Monday and transferred to the Sangamon County Jail on a $1 million bond. If convicted, they could face up to sixty years in prison.