- Two paramedics were charged in the death of a patient who was strapped facedown to a stretcher.
- Earl L. Moore, Jr. died after the incident on December 18, 2022.
Prosecutors in Illinois have charged two paramedics with first-degree murder in the death of one of their patients, a man experiencing alcohol withdrawal who died after the paramedics strapped him facedown on a stretcher.
Peter Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Finley, 44, are both being held in the Sangamon County jail on a $1 million bond. They each have preliminary hearings scheduled for January 19, according to court records.
The Springfield Police Department said the incident began around 2 a.m. on December 18, 2022, when officers arrived at a residence and found that the 911 caller "was suffering from hallucinations due to alcohol withdrawal," according to a police statement.
Body camera footage released by the police department shows the man, who has since been identified as Earl L. Moore, Jr., in apparent discomfort and speaking incoherently to officers. Moore can be seen throughout the footage writhing on his bed and later on the floor.
Shortly after that, the paramedics arrived at the home and instructed the man, who was lying on the floor, to walk to the ambulance.
"You're gonna have to walk, because we ain't carrying you," Finley told the patient. "Cause I am seriously not in the mood for this dumb s---."
Finley also ordered the patient to "get up, or you can stay here."
The police officers eventually helped Moore out of the house. Then, an officer and Cadigan placed Moore onto a stretcher, where he lay facedown. Cadigan and Finley can then be seen in the footage wrapping a sheet and straps around Moore, still facedown on the stretcher.
The Springfield Police Department's statement said officers were "later notified the patient had passed after arriving at the hospital."
The Illinois State Police has taken over the investigation into Moore's death.
'Indifference is not a crime,' says one of the paramedics' attorneys
An autopsy report cited by CNN listed Moore's cause of death as "compressional and positional asphyxia due to prone facedown restraint on a paramedic transportation cot/stretcher by tightened straps across back and lower body in the setting of lethargy and underlying chronic alcoholism."
Finley's attorney, W. Scott Hanken, told Insider his client intends to plead not guilty to the murder charge, adding that he had "no earthly idea how anybody in good faith could bring these charges based on what I've seen," and that his client committed no crime that night.
When asked about Finley's remarks heard on the body camera footage, Hanken said "indifference is not a crime."
"If they're criminalizing someone having a bad attitude, then they better build bigger prisons," he said. "Call it bedside manner, call it whatever you want. That's the red herring here. Whether or not somebody comes off as uncaring or unconcerned or comes across as a b----, that's open to everybody's interpretation."
Hanken noted that the police body camera footage only shows the officers and Cadigan placing Moore on the stretcher — not Finley. He said Finley only placed the sheet over Moore and brought up one of the stretcher's straps around Moore. Hanken said Cadigan was the one who could be seen on footage securing and tightening the straps.
"There is no evidence that she committed any affirmative act that could in any way, shape, or form be attributable or deemed to be responsible for that gentleman's death," Hanken said.
Court records for Cadigan did not name any legal representative or state whether he has retained an attorney. The Springfield Police Department noted in its statement that the police officers at the scene were not trained or equipped to assist in transporting patients and relied on the paramedics to ensure his safety.
"The Springfield Police Officers who responded to this incident recognized the patient's need and requested medical assistance for the patient," the statement said, adding that the paramedics "acted indifferently to the patient's condition."
Hanken declined to comment on any specific actions the officers took that night, asking only, "Have you ever heard — ever — a scenario where a first-degree murder occurred in front of three law enforcement officers and they did nothing?"