Illinois paramedics, ambulance company sued for man's death

CHICAGO (AP) — The family of an Illinois man whose death prompted murder charges against two paramedics who strapped him facedown on a stretcher has filed a lawsuit against

them and their employer, attorneys said Thursday. Ben Crump, whose firm often handles civil rights cases and frequently represents the families of Black men killed by

police, is representing 35-year-old Earl Moore’s family in the lawsuit against Peter Cadigan, Peggy Finley and LifeStar Ambulance Service. Speaking to reporters, Crump said police

video of the paramedics’ interactions with Moore showed “barbaric” behavior. “We saw it with so many tragedies in America,” Crump said, referencing killings of Black men by

police, including George Floyd. “It’s just so tragic that now this pattern seems to be spilling over to the first responders, to the EMTs. When you look at that video, the reason

it’s so shocking is because they offer Earl no consideration.” Prosecutors have separately charged Cadigan and Finley with first-degree murder, accusing them of tightly

strapping Moore on a stretcher after Springfield police who initially responded to a 911 call at Moore's home requested an ambulance. Under Illinois law, a first-degree murder

charge can be filed when a defendant “knows that such acts create a strong probability of death or great bodily harm.” Moore’s mother, Rose Washington, said losing her only

son has been unimaginably painful.