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Two paramedics have been charged with murder after body camera footage showed them placing a patient face down on a gurney an hour before he was to be pronounced dead at a nearby hospital in Springfield, Illinois.
Peter Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Finley, 44, both LifeStar employees, were charged with first-degree murder in the December 18 death of Earl J. Moore Jr. He was 35 years old.
Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright said at a news conference Tuesday that in addition to being face down, Moore had straps attached to his back and legs.
Springfield authorities said police were called to Moore’s home in the Pillsbury neighborhood around 2 a.m. after receiving a call about people inside an apartment in the building with weapons.
After they arrived, authorities met with Moore, who was experiencing alcohol withdrawal-induced hallucinations, a declaration the Springfield Police Department said. An ambulance was called and arrived minutes later.
Earl Moore Jr, shown here on his sister’s Facebook page, was suffering from alcohol withdrawal when he was placed face down on the gurney.
It was Moore who called the police. When the officers arrived, a woman let them into the house. She tells the police: ‘There is no one here with guns.’ The woman also said that Moore was suffering from alcohol withdrawal and that he had not had a drink in days.
In body camera footage, the woman can be seen leading police into a back room where Moore is lying.
The woman says, ‘He called them for no reason.’ When an officer asks if she should call an ambulance, the woman says: ‘Every time I take him to the hospital, all they do is discharge him.’
She also said, ‘He’s seeing things that aren’t there and hearing voices in his head.’
An officer tells Moore: ‘She’s worried about you, man. She said you’ve been struggling a bit. Moore finally speaks for the first time: “I could use some water.”
Peter Cadigan, 50, shown here, is being held on $1 million bail at the Sangamon County Jail
Peggy Finley, 44, can be heard in the body camera footage berating Moore on multiple occasions.
Springfield police said police were called to the address in the Pillsbury neighborhood around 2 a.m. Dec. 18 after receiving a call about people inside an apartment in the building with weapons.
The woman who answered the door for responding officers said Moore had not had a drink in days.
Minutes later the ambulance arrives. Finley enters the apartment.
He subsequently yells at Moore: ‘I’m not playing with you tonight. Sit down’ and then he’s like, ‘Stop acting stupid.’ She continues: ‘You’ll have to walk because we won’t take you! Seriously, I’m not in the mood for this nonsense.
Then a police officer steps in: ‘If you want to go to the hospital, man, you’ve got to help us out a bit.’
It was police who carried Moore outside to the gurney, state attorney Dan Wright said.
Once outside, the paramedics begin to put Moore on the gurney, the video shows. From there, he is wheeled to the ambulance and placed inside. The video ends shortly after.
Authorities said Moore was pronounced dead at the hospital about an hour later.
The woman who answered the door said Moore was “seeing things that weren’t there and hearing voices in her head.”
Her cause of death was compression and postural asphyxia ‘due to prone prone restraint on a paramedic transport cot/stretcher with tight straps across her back and lower body in the context of lethargy and underlying chronic alcoholism’ Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon said. at the press conference on Tuesday.
Moore’s death was investigated by the Illinois State Police.
It was their findings that led to charges being brought against Cadigan and Finley. They were arrested on January 9. Both are being held on $1 million bond each at the Sangamon County Jail.
Jail records show Cadigan is in custody at the prison medical center.
The couple faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted. They will make their next court appearance on January 19.
During the press conference, Wright said Cadigan and Finley “acted without legal jurisdiction” and accused them of placing “tighter restrictions” on Moore.
It added that through the couple’s training they should have known “that such acts would create a substantial probability of great bodily harm or death.”
The couple’s lawyer, D. Peter Wise, said Washington Post: “These are two good people who find themselves in a very strange criminal case.”
While NAACP Springfield Chapter President Teresa Haley drew comparisons between Moore’s death and the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a police officer.
In an interview with illinois Time, Haley said: ‘It was almost worse. If this guy was already… having a hard time breathing, and then you put him on a gurney face down, I mean, he was hostile to watch the video and how he was treated.
She continued: ‘They literally pulled his hands back and just tied him up. He couldn’t move even if he wanted to.
According to his obituary, Moore’s funeral was held in Springfield on December 29.
The tribute said the victim worked as a manager at McDonald’s for 18 years. She continues: ‘She loved to fish, have fun and help whomever she could whenever she could.’
His sister wrote on Facebook following the announcement of the charges against Cadigan and Finley: “My brother’s death was caused by careless, unfriendly, unprofessional and ‘medically trained’ staff.
She continued: “Earl Moore was kind, loving, funny, with an infectious smile and he definitely didn’t deserve this.” EVERYONE had a role and EVERYONE failed my brother; I pray that the justice system doesn’t fail him too.
Moore’s cousin, Darris Cole, said in a Facebook post: ‘Praying for justice for my family. Just remember that God is in control.’ A relative called Moore “sweet and loving” and he was “one of the greatest men.” She concluded: “He is gone but never forgotten.”