The family of a man who died after being strapped face down to a stretcher and dying is now filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the two Illinois paramedics charged with his murder and the emergency medical services, where they were employed.
Peter J. Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Jill Finley, 45, are now facing charges of first-degree murder in the death of Earl Moore Jr., 35, who was suffocated after the two paramedics pushed Moore face down on the stretcher had strapped – also called a prone position.
The couple appeared Thursday at the Sangamon County Courthouse via video link. They did not waive their right to a pre-hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday.
They are currently being held at the Sangamon County Jail in Springfield on $1 million bail each, ABC News reported.
The wrongful death lawsuit was announced during a news conference on Thursday. As Moore’s grieving mother, Rosena Washington, cried, saying, “They tied him up like some kind of animal… they killed him.” She now demands that Cadigan and Finely be held accountable for their son’s death.
Earl Moore Jr., 35, who suffocated after the two rescuers strapped him face down to the stretcher on December 18, 2022. Moore suffered from hallucinations from alcohol withdrawal
EMT Peggy Jill Finley, 45 (pictured), is charged with the first degree murder of Moore
EMT Peter J. Cadigan, 50, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with Moore’s death
“He needed emergency medical care. Instead, those workers treated him like he wasn’t even human,” Washington said. “They tied him up like an animal,” she said. ‘They killed him. My baby suffocated because of their actions and their inaction.’
Sangamon County Prosecutor Dan Wright said Moore died after being placed in an ambulance in a prone position, meaning face down. He said straps were placed on his back and lower body to keep him on the stretcher.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, spoke as the victims’ three sisters and niece stood nearby, wearing shirts and pins in honor of Moore, and wept.
“We filed a wrongful death lawsuit this morning because we want to make sure this family gets whole justice, not just partial justice, like we did with George Floyd’s family and Ahmaud Arbery’s family, not piecemeal righteousness, but whole righteousness.
We want to make sure we have criminal guilt and civil liability. Why should Black people only get partial justice? No, Earl was a whole person and we demand full justice.’
Crump paused before saying, “Tragically, in America we’ve seen a pattern — a pervasive pattern of policing that doesn’t have the same respect, the same consideration, the same professionalism, that extends to people of color — especially black people.” Men.
I mean, they don’t extend humanity to black men, and we’ve seen it with so many tragedies that have become hashtags in America, whether it’s George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery, whether it’s Laquon McDonald here in Illinois acts, so many.
President Haley and it’s so tragic that this pattern seems to be spreading now to the first responders, to the EMTs, because when you look at the video — the reason it’s so shocking is because they’re not paying attention to Earl.
I mean, from the moment they get there, it’s like it’s a hostile encounter and it’s not like Earle is threatening them or making them feel inferior. He’s down there screaming for help.’
Teresa Haley, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, said at a news conference last week that the bodycam video she was viewing was eerily reminiscent of George Floyd.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck while in police custody on May 25, 2020.
“They literally threw his hands behind him and strapped him down. He couldn’t move when he wanted to and he’s lying face down,” Haley said, ABC News reported.
“They didn’t show any sympathy for this person. He should be alive today.’
“We filed a wrongful death lawsuit this morning because we want to make sure this family gets whole justice, not just partial justice, like we did with George Floyd’s family and Ahmaud Arbery’s family, not piecemeal Justice, but whole justice,” Ben said to Crump
Moore’s grieving mother, Rosena Washington (pictured left), said at a news conference Thursday that she wants Cadigan and Finley to be held accountable for their son’s death
According to a press release from the Springfield Police Department, paramedics Cadigan and Finley responded to a call from a man “suffering from hallucinations from alcohol withdrawal” at a Springfield, Illinois apartment just after 2 a.m. on December 18.
The video shows Moore on the floor as one of the paramedics yells at him to “sit up” and “stop acting stupid” before strapping him face down onto a stretcher so tightly that Moore chokes and suffocates dies.
Bodycam footage released last week by the Sangamon County Attorney’s Office.
The disturbing video shows Cadigan and Finley yelling at Moore while he was on the floor. One of them jokes, “We don’t carry you” and “I’m really not in the mood for this stupid stuff” when profane words are used.
Officers help Moore go outside to the ambulance while a stretcher waits for him. Finley and Cadigan are both then seen strapping Moore to the stretcher in what police describe as a “prone position” or lying face down.
A statement from the Springfield Police Department said officers at the scene attempted to treat Moore after saying paramedics were “indifferent to the patient’s condition.”
“Officials took steps to assist the patient, get him the care he needed and even waited at the scene to ensure medical staff loaded the patient into the ambulance,” the statement said.
“The officers who are not emergency medical technicians are not trained or equipped to provide the necessary medical treatment or transport patients in such situations.”
Police said Moore died after being rushed to a local hospital.
One of the rescue workers stands next to the stretcher Earl Moore
Paramedics Peggy Jill Finley and Peter Cadigan strap patient Earl Moore to the stretcher. The pair were charged with first-degree murder in Moore’s death
A closer view of the two paramedics laying Moore face down on the stretcher, which left him to suffocate and die
The EMT’s rolling Moore on the stretcher to the ambulance before being taken to hospital during the December 18, 2022 incident
At Thursday’s news conference, Bob Hilliard, the personal injury attorney who is also representing Moore’s family, said the wrongful death lawsuit alleges Moore suffered as he “slowly choked to death.”
“He wasn’t suffering from a life-threatening illness – he was suffering from an illness. The life-threatening part was during transport,” Hilliard said.
“Earl really suffered unimaginably in those three minutes that his life faded away.”
Finely’s attorney, W. Scott Hanken, told that they were disappointed that the judge found a probable cause and took the matter to court.
“We understood and appreciated that the state had such a low threshold and burden that it was highly unlikely that the case would be terminated at the preliminary hearing stage,” Hanken said.
“We are confident that the state will not be able to meet its burden of proof, namely beyond a reasonable doubt, here in court.
We continue to believe that the proper forum for prosecution in this matter is the civil sphere as any alleged conduct here was not criminal and the State could not point to corroborative action by Peggy Finley who was the proximate cause of death here.’
When contacted LifeStar’s emergency services, they said they had “no comment”.