Earl L. Moore Jr. died on December 18 in Springfield, shortly after EMS workers strapped him facedown onto a stretcher. A resident in his home reported hallucinations caused by alcohol withdrawal to police.
Two Illinois EMS workers have been charged with murder in connection with the death of a 35-year-old man in their care, whom they are alleged to have strapped facedown on a stretcher.
Peter Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Finley, 44, emergency medical workers for LifeStar, were charged with first-degree murder in the death of Earl L. Moore Jr. on Dec. 18, Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright announced Tuesday.
Moore died after he was put in an ambulance in a prone position, meaning facedown, and straps were placed on his back and lower body to keep him on the stretcher, Wright said.
Around 2 a.m., police responded to a home on North 11th Street in Springfield, the state capital, after receiving a call about people inside with firearms. When officers arrived, a resident stated that the person who called 911 was experiencing “hallucinations due to alcohol withdrawal.” police said in a news release.
Officers found the person, Moore, and “quickly realized that the patient was in need of medical assistance,” police said.
An ambulance arrived at 2:18 a.m.
A female paramedic instructed Moore to walk to the ambulance, but body camera video, also released Tuesday, showed he “was not able to walk and the medical personnel were not offering any assistance,” police said.
Moore was assisted by three police officers through the house and onto a stretcher outside.
According to officer body camera footage, EMS workers placed Moore on a stretcher in a prone position.
Moore died at the hospital at 3:14 a.m. on Tuesday, according to Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon.
Moore died as a result of compressional and positional asphyxia, according to an autopsy “”As a result of a prone face-down restraint on a paramedic transportation cot/stretcher by tightened straps across the back,” Allmon explained.
His death was ruled to be a homicide.
After learning of Moore’s death, Chief Ken Scarlette requested an independent investigation by the Illinois State Police.
Wright stated that he filed first-degree murder charges against Cadigan and Finley based on the findings of the ongoing ISP investigation and the autopsy report.
They were being held in the Sangamon County jail on $1 million bail each.
The charges were read aloud to reporters by Wright, who stated that the defendants “did act without lawful justification” in transporting Moore in the prone position and by placing “tightened restraints” on his back and lower body.
He claimed they should have known better “based on their training, experience, and the surrounding circumstances, that such acts would pose a significant risk of serious bodily harm or death.”
If convicted, they face 20 to 60 years in prison, according to Wright. It was unclear whether they had legal representation.
An attorney for the couple did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Their next court appearance is scheduled for January 19.l.
