According to court filings, two paramedics in Illinois are accused of murder after a patient died in December of positional asphyxiation shortly after being brought to a hospital.
In response to a police request for medical aid for a 911 caller who “was experiencing hallucinations due to alcohol withdrawal,” Peggy Finley, 44, and Peter Cadigan, 50, arrived at a residence in Springfield on December 18.
As one of the cops informs her on the patient, Earl L. Moore, Jr., Finley enters the home’s rear bedroom, as seen in body camera footage released by the police.
Moore can be heard hearing Finley yell at him to get up and get to the ambulance. We won’t be carrying you, therefore you’ll have to walk, she exclaims. I’m really not in the mood for this stupid stuff.
Moore is being helped outside and onto the gurney by two of the officers. Moore is placed on the stretcher with assistance from Cadigan, and both paramedics strap him into a prone position.
The patient passed away after being admitted to the hospital, according to a news release from the Springfield Police Department.
Moore died of “compressional and positional asphyxia owing to prone facedown immobilization on a paramedic transportation cot/stretcher by tightened straps across the back and lower body in the background of lethargy and underlying chronic alcoholism,” according to the coroner’s postmortem report.
According to court records, Finley and Cadigan were detained on January 9 and charged with first-degree murder.
They each have a $1 million bond and are being held at the Sangamon County Detention Center.
The next court appearance for both is set on January 19.
CNN has contacted the Finley and Cadigan attorneys for comment but has not yet gotten a response.
According to the National Institutes of Health, alcohol withdrawal is a medical condition that happens when a person used to regular alcohol consumption either reduces or stops drinking together.
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can range considerably from minor cases of insomnia, anxiety, or agitation to severe cases of delirium tremens, seizures, or hallucinations, according to the FDA.
The paramedics’ employer, Lifestar Ambulance Service, declined to comment on the situation, citing the current inquiry.
Regarding the county’s ambulance service contracts, CNN also contacted the executive chairperson for the Office of Emergency Management but has not yet heard back.
Read More:
- Wife Of An Iowa Official Is Arrested And Accused Of Voter Fraud In The 2020 Election
- 9 People Died And More Casualties Are Expected After Tornadoes Sweeps Through U.S. Southeast