Three security guards from a mall in suburban Detroit are facing charges of involuntary manslaughter after prosecutors say the men, who apparently failed their training course, allowed a man to die after a fight broke out between the man and the guards.
Gaven King, John Seiberling, and Aaron Maree could all be in prison for 15 years if convicted. A fourth man, Lucius Hamilton, recently pleaded guilty and the judge said she will likely give him a three-month jail sentence.
The altercation took place back in 2014; it has taken ten years for the case to get to trial. A jewelry store owner in the mall called the security office to report that a man, McKenzie Cochrane, was “acting crazy” and had threatened to kill another person. Two security guards ordered Cochrane to leave the mall but he refused.
Cochrane then rushed security guard Gary Chaffin (Chaffin is not charged with any crime), who responded by trying to subdue him with pepper spray. Cochrane resisted violently as the group of security guards tried to get him under control. In total, five mall security guards ended up on the scene and they wrestled Cochraone onto his back and handcuffed him.
It was then that actual police from Southfield arrived and found Cochrane motionless.
During the struggle, Cochrane allegedly said “I can’t breathe” several times, according to Assistant Attorney General Robyn Liddell in a statement to the jury. She said the defendants had Cochrane down on the floor for a full 11 minutes with their collective body weight on top of the man. He screamed and cried during the entire time, the prosecutor said.
Characterizing the security response as “not a fair fight,” Liddell said five men against one was just too much.
An autopsy on Cochranes body found that he died of asphyxiation, and that he had an enlarged heart.
The defense attorneys urged the jury to look at the actions of each security guard independently, and not to let emotion sway their decision.
