Jury finds former Northland Mall guards not guilty in 2014 death of threatening man

Three former employees of a private security company who were guards at Northland Mall in Southfield were found not guilty Friday in the 2014 death of a man who died after the guards wrestled the man to the floor of the mall and held him face down.

Former guards John Seiberling, Gaven King, and Aaron Maree were charged with involuntary manslaughter , a 15-year felony, in connection with the death of McKenzie Cochran.  In a news release, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said that, although the jury's decision to acquit was not what she'd hoped for, her staff deserved praise for working diligently "in pursuit of long-awaited answers on behalf of Mr. Cochran’s family.”

The investigation languished for years, after former Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper declined to bring criminal charges against the five guards involved, saying they had no intention to kill Cochrane. Cooper said in 2014 that she felt there was no criminal negligence on the part of the guards, although she said there might well have been civil negligence. Soon afterward, Cochrane's family filed an $800-million lawsuit against the guards, the security company that employed them and Northland Mall. No settlement was ever made public.

In 2020, Cochran’s family asked then newly appointed Southfield police Chief Elvin Barren to "take a second look at the case," Nessel said in a news release.  The investigation was then referred to Nessel's office, the release said.

Video evidence showed that the guards held Cochran held face down on the floor with his arms under his body, and witnesses at the mall as well as the guards themselves told detectives that, as they restrained him, Cochrane said, "Let me go, I can't breathe" -- words like those of others who died at the hands of police and security personnel, including George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis.

The fatal incident at Northland Mall on Jan. 28, 2014, began when Cochran, 25, of Ferndale, reportedly told the owner of a jewelry store inside the mall that “he wanted to kill someone.” Two guards responded to the store owner's call for help. When the guards arrived, Cochran approached them with clenched fists. One guard pepper-sprayed him and both tried to restrain him while requesting assistance. Three additional guards responded and joined the group's effort at handcuffing Cochran. News reports at the time cited witnesses saying that Cochrane appeared to have "super-human strength."

Once handcuffed, the guards noticed Cochran was unresponsive and called EMS while awaiting police, who arrived in eight minutes. At that point, attempts to revive Cochrane at the mall were unsuccessful. Cochran was declared deceased shortly after being transported to a nearby hospital.  An autopsy showed that his death was caused by "compression asphyxiation" ‒ that is, Cochrane was unable to breathe because of the guards' weight on his body‒ although the Oakland County Medical Examiner's Office ruled it an accidental death.

A fourth security guard, Lucius Hamilton, pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of involuntary manslaughter. Hamilton could receive a prison sentence of up to 15 years. One guard who was involved died in 2017.

Contact Bill Laytner: blaitner@freepress.com .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jury finds former Northland Mall guards not guilty in 2014 death of threatening man