LANSING (WWJ) -- Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday that a judge has ordered to trial a case involving a 2014 incident where a man died as the result of a group of Northland Mall security guards pinning him to the floor in an attempt to restrain him.
Lucius Hamilton, John Seiberling, Gaven King and Aaron Maree -- formerly private security guards -- were bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court in connection with the 2014 death of MacKenzie Cochran at the Northland Mall. Each faces one count of involuntary manslaughter, a 15-year felony.
The event in question occurred on Jan. 28, 2014, when Cochran, a 25-year-old Ferndale man, reportedly told the owner of a jewelry store in the mall that he "wanted to kill someone."
Two security guards responded to the store owner's call for assistance.
Officials say Cochran approached the guards with clenched fists. One guard maced Cochran, then both attempted to force him to the ground. Three additional members of the security team arrived and joined in trying to handcuff Cochran.
According to the AG's Office, video evidence shows that Cochran remained facedown with his arms under his body while the five security guards restrained him.
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Witnesses at the mall, and follow-up interviews with the guards involved, confirm that Cochran said he couldn't breathe during the incident.
After Cochran was handcuffed, the guards noticed that he was unresponsive and called for paramedics. First-responders were not able to revive Cochran at the mall, and the man was declared deceased a short time later at an area hospital.
In Sept. 2014, the Oakland County Prosecutor declined to bring criminal charges against any of the five security guards.
Nearly six years later, in early 2020, Cochran's family asked the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office to take a second look at the case.
It was then referred to the AG, who's Public Integrity Unit conducted further investigation, interviewed additional witnesses and obtained more evidence -- all of which led to the current charges.
"It has been clear through our review of this case that justice would require criminal charges and a trial," AG Nessel said in a news release.
"I am grateful for the efforts of the family of MacKenzie Cochran, and the diligent work of the prosecutors in my department, to bring this case to trial despite the intervening years."
The fifth security guard involved in Cochran's death passed away in 2017.
The defendants' next court date has not been scheduled, yet.
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