WASHINGTON — Marie Mills was right next to her father, Cecil, when he suffered a heart attack and collapsed across from a D.C. fire station.
But help never arrived from Engine 26. The ambulance that was dispatched was sent to the wrong part of the District.
Cecil Mills, 77, ultimately died.
On Friday, Marie went to the ongoing trial board hearing where Lt. Kellene Davis was on the hot seat.
Two days earlier the board closed the hearing to the public and media. It didn’t waiver Friday, even as the person who wanted to observe the matter was both a family member of the victim and a witness.
Mills and her attorney, Karen Evans, had to leave.
“There’s absolutely no transparency, and we have lost all confidence in the board to come to a fair decision,” says Evans, a partner with the Cochran Firm. “What are they hiding?”
The only information to trickle out of the disciplinary hearing comes second hand. On Wednesday, someone taped white sheets of paper over the windows to prevent any glimpse inside.
Lt. Davis briefly spoke with reporters on her way out of the Reeves Center.
“I in no way refused to help Mr. Mills in any way,” she said in a recording posted on YouTube. “By the time that I was aware that he was having difficulties, help was already on the way.”
Related Stories:
- Media, public denied entry to D.C. hearing on Cecil Mills death
- D.C. Fire hearing over neglect in man’s death closed to public
- Report: 5 firefighters knew about stricken man
- Committee to examine fire department’s response in Cecil Mills incident
- Family of Cecil Mills responds to report
- Wells calls for fire chief, deputy mayor to resign
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