Two Illinois EMS workers were charged with murder following the accidental death of a patient while riding in an ambulance, authorities said.
Peggy Finley and Peter Cadigan are facing charges of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Earl Moore Jr. that occurred on Dec. 18 in a private ambulance.
The victim was suffering a hallucinatory episode when his family requested medical help. Finley and Cadigan were sent to his home to transport him to a local hospital.
A police body camera placed inside the ambulance reportedly caught the two medics putting Moore on a paramedic stretcher face-down and restraining him with straps causing him to suffocate and die from asphyxiation.
“For me, it's not about him being a Black man. It could have been a white family,” Springfield NAACP President Teresa Haley said.
“If we were called in, we would have the same opinion. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.”
“What I must say is the Springfield Police Department did an awesome job and without the body cams we wouldn't have that information.”
