Family of Cecil Mills responds to report

WASHINGTON – The family of a man who collapsed outside a D.C. fire station while no one helped is responding to a report after an internal investigation.

The man later died.

The investigation, released Friday, says District of Columbia firefighters were aware a man collapsed and needed medical attention but didn’t assist.

Medric “Cecil” Mills, 77, went into cardiac arrest in a parking lot across from a Northeast fire station on Jan. 25 and later died at a hospital.

“Changes have to be made. Nobody; no citizen, no visitor to Washington, D.C. should have to experience what my family and I are experiencing,” says Mills’ daughter Marie.

She announced her family is launching a separate investigation into the negligence surrounding her father’s death. She learned of the details of the report as her attorney outlined them to reporters.

“How one could just watch is devastating to me. It’s beyond horrific in my opinion that you could watch and not do anything,” Mills says of first responders at the firehouse.

What upsets the family the most is that Mills was so dedicated to the city. A longtime parks department employee, his daughter says the city failed him when he needed it most.

She has a message for those partially responsible for her father’s death.

“Why didn’t you help? Why didn’t you do your job? If somebody would have just did their job that day, my dad could still be here with us,” Mills says.

Read more and see the report here.

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