SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — A nationally renowned civil rights attorney will represent a case in central Illinois.

The family of Earl Moore Jr. has hired Ben Crump for their legal defense team, along with Bob Hilliard of Hilliard Martinez Gonzales.

Crump previously represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor in court. He serves as the president of the National Civil Rights Trial Lawyers Association.

Moore Jr. died in December after two EMS workers, Peter Cadigan and Peggy Finley, placed him face-down on an ambulance stretcher. The Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon ruled Moore’s death a homicide, and Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright is charging both Cadigan and Finley with first-degree murder.

The Springfield Police Department released body camera footage from the three police officers on the scene. 

Crump said he is lifting Moore Jr. and his family in prayers, and called Cadigan and Finley’s actions inexcusable.

“EMS workers respond to some of the hardest moments in people’s lives, and their occupation calls for them to operate with care and compassion,” Crump said. “Earl saw neither care nor compassion in his last moments when he was suffocating, strapped face down to a stretcher by LifeStar employees.”

Cadigan and Finley are scheduled to have their first court appearance Thursday.