The family of Medric Cecil Mills, Jr. and their attorney Karen E. Evans, partner with The Cochran Firm’s Washington, D.C. office, is holding a press conference on Thursday, February 6, 2014 at 11 a.m. at the Brentwood Village Shopping Center at the 1301-1333 block of Rhode Island Avenue NE, Washington, D.C.
Mills suffered a fatal heart attack on January 25, 2014 at the Brentwood Village Shopping Center, which is directly across the street from Engine Company 26 Fire Station. Bystanders saw Mills collapse and pleaded for firefighters at the fire station to help, but no medical assistance was provided. Mills later died at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
Mills’ wife, daughter, and son will address the media for the first time and will call for reform of the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services. The Mills family’s attorney, Karen Evans, will also address the media and provide insight into some of the legal challenges created by this tragic situation.
Mills was a lifelong Washington, D.C. resident and worked for the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation. Witnesses have stated they could see firefighters in the station but no one came to Mills’ aide, according to media reports. Bystanders reportedly spoke to a firefighter, knocked on the fire station door, screamed and yelled for the firefighters to come across the street to help but no one came.
After nearby firefighters reportedly refused to help Mills, police officers arrived on scene first. An ambulance that had been sent to the scene was sent to the wrong address by mistake. D.C. Council Member Tommy Wells recently confirmed that a 911 dispatcher sent the wrong station to respond to Mills’ medical emergency.
