WASHINGTON — Medric “Cecil” Mills became a household name when he collapsed across the street from a D.C. fire station in January and died after none of the firefighters inside would help him. His death shocked the region and set off calls for reform.
But the 77-year-old was a D.C. government employee for decades, working in the Parks and Recreation Department. And now he’ll be commemorated in Northeast.
The gym at the North Michigan Park Recreation Center will be named after Mills, Mayor Vincent Gray told NewsChannel 8 Thursday.
Gray said that Mills should be remembered — and the way he died shouldn’t be forgotten either.
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. No one from the station came to his aid, and an ambulance dispatched to assist him went to the wrong quadrant of D.C.
“We don’t want him to be forgotten because he was such an important part of the District government, and for so many years,” Gray said. “We also don’t want this situation to be forgotten. We hope this never happens again.”
Related Stories:
- Committee to examine fire department’s response in Cecil Mills incident
- Family of Cecil Mills responds to report
- Internal report documents more breakdowns in Cecil Mills response
WTOP’s Andrew Mollenbeck contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook.
