Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has agreed to review the 2014 case of a Black man who died at the hands of mall security officers in Southfield. The AG's office made the announcement Tuesday.
This announcement comes after 7 Action News confirmed Sunday that Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper would submit the case to the attorney general's office for review.
Cooper's office has said that charges were not warranted in the case. And six years later, Cooper still has maintained that facts haven't changed despite strong similarities to the George Floyd case in Minnesota.
“My office will conduct a thorough and comprehensive review of this case to determine whether any additional action should have been taken in response to Mr. Cochran’s death,” Nessel said in a statement. “If the evidence warrants additional action, we will make efforts to ensure justice is served.”
BREAKING: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announces that her office will review the case involving the death of 25-year-old McKenzie Cochran, who died in 2014 after a struggle with security staff at the Northland Mall in Southfield. @wxyzdetroit @kiertzner7 pic.twitter.com/K1FzqH0ehH
— Simon Shaykhet WXYZ (@simonshaykhet) June 16, 2020
The case was originally investigated by the Southfield Police Department and reviewed by the Oakland County Prosecutor. Both agencies have now requested an outside review of the case.
Cell phone video showed 25-year-old McKenzie Cochran, of Ferndale, being held down after security guards pepper sprayed him at the now closed Northland Mall in January 2014.
Cochran’s family says they’ve been denied justice for years after his death. They now hope years later that charges can be filed.
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” Cochran yelled.
But a security officer replied, “If you can talk, you can breathe.”
RELATED: Death of George Floyd brings back pain to McKenzie Cochran’s family after no charges filed In death
After security placed a knee on his back and held him down, McKenzie later became unconscious and died. An autopsy later determined his death was a result of positional asphyxia.
