Guards on Trial for Man's Death After 10 Years
- Four security guards are facing trial for the death of a man in a Detroit-area mall over 10 years ago.
- The man was pinned to the ground during a fierce struggle at the suburban Detroit shopping mall.
- The trial is bringing justice to a tragic incident that occurred years ago.
Jury selection is set to commence on Monday in the case surrounding the death of a man named Cochran, who died in 2014 after a confrontation with mall security. The Oakland County prosecutor at the time, Jessica Cooper, opted not to file charges following consultations with the U.S. Justice Department, stating that while the guards made mistakes, their actions did not constitute a crime. The decision has been met with scrutiny, as prosecutors have not indicated that race played a role in the incident. The events leading to Cochran's death unfolded on January 28, 2014, when a jewelry store owner alerted mall security about Cochran's erratic behavior, claiming he had threatened to kill someone. Five security guards intervened, resulting in a physical struggle that left Cochran restrained on the ground. Witness Hoy Monk recounted Cochran's transition from resisting to pleading that he could not breathe during the altercation. Defense attorney Doraid Elder argued that the guards acted in a moment of crisis to protect another individual, asserting that they had no time to evaluate the situation. Notably, one of the guards involved, Chaffin, is not part of the current case as he passed away in 2017. Testimony from a key hearing in 2023 suggested that Cochran might have survived had he not been restrained. The case has reignited discussions about the legal thresholds for prosecuting actions taken by security personnel, with Assistant Attorney General LaDonna Logan indicating that the attorney general's office disagrees with the previous prosecutor's assessment of the situation.