DETROIT– An expert on the use of force defended the tactics of security guards who held a man to the floor of a Detroit-area mall before he died, telling jurors Friday that their actions were reasonable.
Charles Key testified for the defense at the trial of three guards for involuntary manslaughter in the McKenzie Cochran case at the Northland Center more than 10 years ago.
Cochran, 25, who had an enlarged heart, repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe” as he lay facedown, witnesses said. He died of asphyxiation.
“It doesn’t affect my overall opinion,” said Key, a consultant and former Baltimore police supervisor who trains officers in use-of-force tactics. “If he’s talking, that means he’s breathing. He may not be breathing properly. Resisting aggressively — you can’t do that without oxygen either.”
The 2014 confrontation, captured on video, began when a jewelry store owner called security to report that Cochran had said he wanted to kill someone. He refused to leave the mall and was pepper-sprayed by a security guard.
The conflict quickly involved five guards, all of whom attempted to restrain Cochran, while one attempted to handcuff him. It was later determined that he was not armed.
“This guy was a serious threat based on the information they had,” Key said. “All they tried to do was handcuff him. They didn’t use any force other than the initial pepper spray.”
Cochran’s death was classified as an accident by the coroner in 2014, and the Oakland County District Attorney’s Office has not filed charges, based in part on Keys’s view of the confrontation. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel reversed course in 2021 and filed charges.
John Seiberling, Gaven King and Aaron Maree are accused of gross negligence. Another guard pleaded guilty last week, facing just 90 days in jail. The guard who led the confrontation with Cochran died in 2017.
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