Two paramedics charged with murder after placing Earl L. Moore Jr. face down on a stretcher

Two paramedics have been charged with murder after bodycam footage showed them placing a patient face down on a stretcher an hour before he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital in Springfield, Illinois.

Peter Cadigan, 50, and Peggy Finley, 44, both LifeStar employees, have been charged with first-degree murder following the December 18 death of Earl J. Moore Jr. He was 35 years old.

Sangamon County Prosecutor Dan Wright said at a news conference Tuesday that not only is Moore lying face down, but he also has straps on his back and legs.

Springfield authorities said police were called to Moore’s home in the Pillsbury neighborhood around 2 a.m. after receiving a call about people in an apartment in the building having guns.

Upon their arrival, authorities encountered Moore, who was experiencing alcohol withdrawal-induced hallucinations, the Springfield Police Department said in a statement. An ambulance was called and arrived minutes later.

Earl Moore Jr., seen here on his sister’s Facebook page, was suffering from alcohol withdrawal when he was placed face down on the stretcher

It was Moore who called the police. When officers arrived, a woman let them into the house. She tells police, “There’s nobody here with guns.” The woman also said that Moore was suffering from alcohol withdrawal and hadn’t had a drink in days.

In the bodycam footage, the woman can be seen leading police into a back bedroom where Moore is lying.

The woman says, “He called you for no reason.” When asked by an officer if an ambulance should be called, the woman says, “Every time I take him to the hospital, they just release him.”

She also said, “He sees things that aren’t there and hears voices in his head.”

An officer tells Moore, “She’s worried about you, man. She said you had a bit of a problem.’ Moore finally speaks for the first time: ‘I can use some water.’

Peter Cadigan, 50, pictured here, is being held in the Sangamon County Jail on $1 million bail

Peggy Finley, 44, can be heard in the bodycam recordings repeatedly insulting Moore

Springfield Police said police were called to the Pillsbury borough address around 2am on December 18 after receiving a call about people in an apartment in the building having guns

The woman who answered the door for responding officers said Moore hadn’t had a drink in days

The ambulance arrives a few minutes later. Finley enters the apartment.

She then yells at Moore, “I’m not playing with you tonight. Sit up’ and later say, ‘Stop playing dumb.’ She continues: “You have to run because we don’t carry you! I’m seriously not in the mood for this stupid shit.’

Then a policeman intervened: “If you want to go to the hospital, man, you have to help us a little.”

It was the police who took Moore outside, prosecutor Dan Wright said.

Outside, paramedics begin to place Moore on the stretcher, video shows. From there he is wheeled to the ambulance and placed inside. The video ends shortly thereafter.

Officials said Moore was pronounced dead at the hospital about an hour later.

The woman who answered the door said Moore “saw things that aren’t there and heard voices in his head.”

His cause of death was compression and positional asphyxia “due to a face-down prone position on a paramedic’s gurney/stretch from tightened straps across his back and lower body in the area of ​​lethargy and underlying chronic alcoholism,” said Coroner of Jim Allmon Sangamon County at Tuesday’s press conference.

Moore’s death was being investigated by the Illinois State Police.

It was their findings that led to charges being brought against Cadigan and Finley. They were taken into custody on January 9th. Both are being held in the Sangamon County Jail on $1 million bail each.

Prison records show that Cadigan is being held in the prison’s medical facility.

If convicted, they both face 60 years in prison. They will next appear in court on January 19.

During the press conference, Wright said Cadigan and Finley “acted without legitimate jurisdiction” and he accused them of imposing “enhanced restrictions” on Moore.

He added that thanks to the couple’s education, they should have known “there was a significant likelihood that such actions would result in serious bodily harm or death.”

The couple’s attorney, D. Peter Wise, told the Washington Post, “These are two good people who find themselves involved in a very strange criminal case.”

While NAACP Springfield chapter president Teresa Haley drew comparisons between Moore’s death and George Floyd’s 2020 murder at the hands of a police officer.

In an interview with the Illinois Times, Haley said: “It was almost worse. If this guy was already … having trouble breathing and then you put him face down on a stretcher, I mean it was hostile to see the video and the way they treated him.

She continued, “They literally threw his hands back and just strapped him down. He couldn’t move when he wanted to.”

According to his obituary, Moore’s funeral was held on December 29 in Springfield.

The tribute said the victim worked as a manager at McDonald’s for 18 years. It continues: “He loved to fish, have fun and help where he could, whenever he could.”

His sister wrote on Facebook after the charges against Cadigan and Finley were announced: “My brother’s death was caused by careless, unsympathetic, unprofessional, ‘medically trained’ personnel.”

She continued: “Earl Moore was kind, caring, funny, with an infectious smile and he definitely didn’t deserve that. They ALL had a role and they ALL failed my brother; I pray the justice system does not let him down too.”

Moore’s cousin Darris Cole said in a Facebook post: “I pray for justice for my family. Just remember that God is in control.’ A relative called Moore “sweet and loving” and was “one of the tallest men.” She concluded, “He’s gone but never forgotten.”