Four security guards are set to stand trial for their involvement in the death of McKenzie Cochran, who died more than a decade ago after being pinned to the ground during an altercation at a shopping mall in suburban Detroit. Cochran, 25 at the time, repeatedly expressed that he couldn’t breathe while face down on the floor following a dispute at a jewelry store inside Northland Center in 2014.

Initially, charges were not filed by the Oakland County prosecutor in consultation with the U.S. Justice Department. However, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel revived the case in 2021, charging the four guards with involuntary manslaughter. Cochran’s case gained renewed attention in 2020 amidst the death of George Floyd and during a local race for prosecutor, though prosecutors have not implicated race as a factor in Cochran’s death.

Defense attorney Blake Wright argued that the guards were simply trying to subdue a man with mental health problems and criticized the case’s revival as a politicization of the criminal justice system. Conversely, attorney Gerald Thurswell, representing Cochran’s family, emphasized that video evidence of the struggle will be impactful, stating that Cochran’s death was a result of excessive force.

The guards – John Seiberling, Gaven King, Aaron Maree, and Lucius Hamilton – are accused of restraining Cochran for an extended period while he was face down on the floor, leading to his death from asphyxiation based on an autopsy report. The guards’ lawyers contended that they acted in self-defense during a chaotic confrontation at the mall.

Dr. Carl Schmidt, a former Detroit-area medical examiner, is expected to testify for the prosecution that Cochran’s death should likely be classified as a homicide due to the actions of the individuals restraining him. The trial is set to begin with jury selection, where details of the case will be thoroughly examined.