35-year-old Earl Moore Jr. (Courtesy of Illinois Times)
The family of 35-year-old Earl Moore Jr. is seeking justice after a call to local EMT professionals led to his untimely death, and now two paramedics are being charged in his death.
According to reports, EMT’s were called to the scene after Moore Jr. began experiencing medical distress due to an alcohol detox.
Both Earl’s family and the responding police officers were shocked and appalled when they witnessed Earl being dragged by the arms, forcefully strapped onto a stretcher incorrectly, and neglected by the Lifestar Ambulance EMT’s.
50-year old Peter Cadigan and 40-year old Peggy Finley are now being charged with Moore Jr.’s death after an autopsy revealed Moore Jr. died from suffocation after being incorrectly strapped to the paramedic transport cot.
Both Cadigan and Finley deny any wrongdoing, despite the fact that Finely admitted fault via text to her fellow EMT’s.
Could this just be a case of negligence or could there be more to the story?
The Shade Room investigates…
The body-cam footage is disturbing. Springfield police arrived to Moore’s home around 2:00 a.m. to check on him, as he wasn’t doing well.
Video clips show him writhing around on a bed, breathing heavily, and unable to answer even basic questions.
One officer could be heard telling Moore that an ambulance was on its way, and one eventually did. However, the two EMTs that arrived, Cadigan and Finley, now stand accused of murder in their handling of the situation.
They had already arrived 15 minutes late by the time the paramedics got there, a red flag that portended more issues to come.
Finley could be seen looking almost annoyed at the situation, and callously demanded that he sit up.
She then throws down her notebook and picks Moore up by the arms, dragging him across the floor.
Finley never even checks his vitals, she just watches on as Moore can be seen writing about in some sort of pain.
The responding police officers were the ones to finally get Moore out of the home and to another EMT, identified as Cadigan, who begins to strap Moore down on the transport cot.
“They treated him like a criminal,” said Teresa Haley, President of NAACP Illinois. “They literally slammed him down on the stretcher, with his hands behind his back, like they were going to handcuff him.”
Haley went on to say that they attempted CPR once Moore reached the hospital, but it was already too late and he could not be resuscitated.
She added that Springfield is “a very racist town, even though we’ve worked so hard to change that.”
Finley’s story eventually didn’t add up, she told the hospital that Moore was “combative” and she didn’t want to “poke the bear” and take his vitals.
That contradicts what she told police, in that she said she did check his vitals on scene.
She even tried to get another EMT to cover for her, begging them to say Moore was “responsive” on the way to the hospital.
Prosecutors say the video does not lie, and that he clearly wasn’t being combative.
Moore’s attorney, Bob Hilliard, said “the incline of the gurney changes your windpipe,” which resulted in Moore’s untimely death.
Both Finley and Cadigan have since pleaded not guilty to charges of first degree murder.
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