SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – A jury has found three security guards not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 death of McKenzie Cochran at Northland Mall.
The three security guards were overcome with emotion after the five-day trial ended with them being found not guilty.
The trial had been ongoing since Monday, Aug. 19. The prosecution rested Thursday after four days of witnesses and the defense wrapped Friday.
The jury took less than three hours of deliberation.
The guards -- Lucius Hamilton, John Seiberling, Gaven King, and Aaron Maree -- reportedly held down 25-year-old McKenzie Cochran. He reportedly was asked to leave the mall after an employee said he had been acting suspiciously around a jewelry store. Cochran was pepper sprayed and pinned to the floor.
Hamilton pleaded guilty Aug. 16, after the judge said she would likely favor a 90-day jail sentence in October. A fifth security guard -- who was the initial guard who engaged with Cochran -- died in 2017.
Witnesses said Cochran repeatedly told the guards, “I can’t breathe,” during the struggle. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said he could not breathe because of the way he was positioned on the ground.
Once handcuffed, the guards noticed Cochran was unresponsive and contacted EMS. Attempts to revive him at the mall were unsuccessful. Cochran was declared dead shortly after being taken to a hospital.
Cochran’s death was classified by the medical examiner as an accident in 2014, and the Oakland County prosecutor did not pursue charges.
The four security guards were charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in 2021.
