3 Detroit-area mall guards not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in man’s death in 2014

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A jury swiftly acquitted three security guards of involuntary manslaughter Friday in the death of a man who was held to the floor at a Detroit-area mall in 2014, a case that was closed without charges years ago but reopened by state prosecutors.

The jury of eight women and four men heard closing arguments in the weeklong trial and returned with a verdict after approximately an hour.

McKenzie Cochran, a Black man with an enlarged heart, repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” while five guards restrained him at Northland Center. The confrontation followed a call from a jewelry shop owner who said Cochran told him that he wanted to kill someone.

The 10-minute struggle was recorded on dark, grainy mall video, as well as by onlookers. Cochran, 25, was eventually handcuffed and placed against a pillar while guards waited for police and paramedics. The cause of death was asphyxiation.

Defense attorneys argued that the guards were protecting themselves and mall patrons by trying to bring Cochran under control so they could handcuff him. The encounter grew from two guards to five and initially involved pepper spray.

“If someone found a gun in that man’s pocket, they’d be hailing these men as heroes,” defense attorney Jamil Khuja told the jury. “Instead, 10 years later — not a Monday morning quarterback, a 10-years-later quarterback — come and turn their lives upside down.”

John Seiberling, Gaven King and Aaron Maree embraced one another and their attorneys after the verdicts were read. They declined to comment about the acquittals.

Their family and friends applauded, gasped and cheered in the courtroom. No one from Cochran's family attended the trial; his mother and sister are deceased.

During closing arguments, a prosecutor urged jurors to apply “common sense” and convict the guards, arguing that their gross negligence led to the tragedy.

“This death did not have to happen,” Assistant Attorney General LaDonna Logan said.

“When a man says several times, ‘I can’t breathe,’ common sense says that these defendants should have repositioned him. They did nothing,” Logan said.

Cochran’s death was classified by the medical examiner as an accident in 2014, and the Oakland County prosecutor did not pursue charges.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel reversed course in 2021 and filed charges amid national outrage over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police.

In a written statement, Nessel, a Democrat, said the acquittals were “not what we had hoped for.”

Defense lawyers repeatedly reminded the jury of the decade that has passed since Cochran’s death.

“They had all this information 10 years ago. No charges. There was no negligence,” Wright Blake said. “So what changed between 2014 and 2021? ... Is it her own political gains?”

Blake noted there was no new evidence, except for the opinion of a forensic pathologist, Dr. Carl Schmidt, who looked at records and testified that the death was not an accident and might be considered a homicide. He had no role in the 2014 autopsy.

"When you allow politics and personal advancement to drive whether or not to charge the case, that’s not the right way to do things,” King's attorney, Doraid Elder, told The Associated Press.

He said Jessica Cooper, the local prosecutor who declined charges 10 years ago, should feel vindicated. She was defeated for reelection in 2020.

The last trial witness was Charles Key, a former Baltimore police supervisor who is considered an expert in the use of force. He said Cochran's struggle to breathe didn't change his opinion that the guards' efforts to restrain him while trying to handcuff him were reasonable.

“If he’s talking it means he’s breathing. He may not be breathing well,” Key testified. "Resisting aggressively — that also can’t be done without taking oxygen.”

Key said Cochran could have been handcuffed in just 30 seconds without resistance.

Another guard, Lucius Hamilton, pleaded guilty last week in anticipation of only 90 days in jail. The guard who led the encounter with Cochran died in 2017.

Follow Ed White at https://twitter.com/edwritez

THIS CORRECTS TO PONTIAC, MICH., NOT DETROIT AS ORGINALLY SENT - Three security guards hug after a jury found them not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a man's death at a Pontiac, Mich. mall more than 10 years ago, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. (AP Photo/EJ White)

Three security guards hug after a jury found them not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a man's death at a Detroit-area mall more than 10 years ago, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/EJ White)

John Seiberling, Aaron Maree, center, and Gaven King embrace on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024 in Detroit, after jurors found the three men not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a man's death at a Detroit-area mall where they were working as security guards more than 10 years ago. (AP Photo/Ed White)

John Seiberling, Gaven King and Aaron Maree appear for the first day of their involuntary manslaughter trial in Oakland County, Mich., on Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ed White)

Witness Labieb Ansara, owner of LA Diamonds, testifies during the involuntary manslaughter trial of three Northland Mall security guards who were charged with killing McKenzie Cochran at the mall. Oakland County Circuit on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. (Clarence Tabb, Jr./Detroit News via AP)

Oakland County Circuit Judge Martha D. Anderson respondes to an objection from a defense attorney during the involuntary manslaughter trial of three Northland Mall security guards who were charged with killing a black man at the mall. Oakland County Circuit on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. (Clarence Tabb, Jr./Detroit News via AP)

Witness Hoy Monk, 40, testifies during the involuntary manslaughter trial of three Northland Mall security guards who were charged with killing McKenzie Cochran at the mall. Oakland County Circuit on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. (Clarence Tabb, Jr./Detroit News via AP)

A Video shows security guards trying to detain McKenzie Cochran during the involuntary manslaughter trial of three Northland Mall security guards who were charged with killing McKenzie Cochran at the mall. Oakland County Circuit on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. (Clarence Tabb, Jr./Detroit News via AP)

Defendants, John Seiberling, foreground, Gaven King, middle, and Aaron Maree, Northland Mall security guards were charged with killing McKenzie Cochran at the mall. Oakland County Circuit on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. (Clarence Tabb, Jr./Detroit News via AP)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots were so bad last year they fired six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick. The Seattle Seahawks weren’t much better, reason enough to get rid of Pete Carroll — the only coach ever to lead them to the NFL title.

And on Sunday night, one of those teams will be 2-0.

“You see the direction that we’re trying to go, you see what happens when you do follow the process, and you do buy into the plan,” Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett said this week. “Some days … you’re not going to get the results you want. But I think it’s even more apparent after you do get those results.”

The Seahawks and Patriots have both fallen far since their matchup in Super Bowl 49, when Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson at the goal line and Tom Brady knelt out the final seconds to seal yet another championship for New England.

Wilson is on his third team, as a backup in Pittsburgh after two unsuccessful seasons in Denver. Butler has retired, and he will be back on Sunday along with 20 teammates to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2014 title.

Belichick and Carroll are out of the league after failing to rekindle their success with new quarterbacks. Everyone on the team was invited but Belichick and Brady are not expected to attend.

“While some prominent members of that 2014 team now have broadcasting obligations and are unable to attend, nearly half of the team will be in attendance,” the Patriots said.

The teams replaced the two oldest head coaches in the league with the two youngest: Former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo took over on the New England sideline, and Seattle went with ex-Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.

“I think Coach Mayo and I would agree that this game is not about us. It’s not,” Macdonald said. “It’s about our guys going out and playing and making the plays that it’s going to take to win the game. Our age really has nothing to do with what’s about to happen on Sunday.”

Both won their debuts.

New England, which was 4-13 last season, was the biggest underdog in the NFL last week before beating Cincinnati 16-10. A year after going 9-8, Seattle was expected to beat the Broncos in the opener and did, winning 26-20 to get Macdonald off to a winning start.

“From a coaching perspective, our job is to teach these guys how to win,” Mayo said. “When you won a lot, having that sense of urgency to not fall into being comfortable (is important). We won one game.

“If we don’t go out there and execute and play right, we could be sitting right here and then you’re going to say, ‘Jerod, you seem like you’re in a down mood,’” Mayo said with a laugh. “That’s my job as the head coach of the team: to make sure that these guys are ready to change the page.”

The call came out from the New England sideline in Cincinnati: “Take them to the hill.”

It was a reference to the steep hill where the Patriots ran sprints at the end of training camp practices. The message: Their conditioning was a team strength, especially when trying to run out the clock at the end of the game.

“Just hearing that from the players, it meant a lot,” Mayo said. “That just means taking them into the deep water and all the extra things that we do, it pays off. It pays off in the long term.”

With the Patriots holding the lead in the final minutes, Rhamondre Stevenson ran the ball four straight times, picking up a pair of first downs that allowed them to run out the clock.

“We’re running one play the whole time and they’re not stopping it, so why change it?” Brissett said. “I think that was one of the cooler moments in my career. Everybody in the huddle was saying, ‘Let’s take them to the hill,’ because we knew we were in that much better shape than they were. And I think it paid off.”

Seattle's secondary was believed to be the strength of its defense and that showed in the opener. Safety Julian Love had 12 tackles and an interception. Riq Woolen sprinted across the field to get his first interception of the year after having only two picks last season. New safety K'Von Wallace played just a handful of snaps but forced a key fumble. And second-year cornerback Devon Witherspoon was all over the field being used in a variety of ways.

It was just one game, but it displayed some of the different ways that the skills of Seattle's secondary can be used both in coverage and when bringing pressure.

“We played fast, simply put," Love said. "We played fast. We played aggressive. Guys were able to try to shoot their shot, but they knew they had backup. They knew guys were on the way and so when you play that way, free, it all works together.”

AP Sports Writer Tim Booth contributed to this story from Seattle.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald reacts during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26) scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton shakes hands with Seattle Seahawks linebacker Jerome Baker (17) after an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Seattle. The Seattle Seahawks won 26-20. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) leaps into the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) hands the ball off to running back Rhamondre Stevenson (38) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)