Keenan Charles Pearson, 47, was detained by Seattle Police and was in handcuffs when he lost consciousness. The manner of death is pending, according to the medical examiner records.
The case is under investigation by an independent police investigation team.
About 8:17 p.m., the man was spotted laying on the sidewalk in the 6000 block of Airport Way S. He was unable to clearly speak or care for himself, according to a press release by the Independent Force Investigative Team King County (IFIT-KC). Then:
- Seattle police escorted the man to a police vehicle and allowed him to sit on the front of it without handcuffs. Help was requested to evaluate the subject.
- The subject dropped to the ground and began rolling across the roadway. Police placed him in handcuffs. While waiting for aid, the subject lost consciousness.
- Lifesaving measures were attempted by first responders. They could not resuscitate the person.
Airport Way S was closed to traffic at the time because of Rainier Day festivities on the same street.
No timetable was given for how long the investigation might take.
No one is saying whether or not the cop had their body camera on, or the camera in police vehicle (since the person had been seated on the front bumper of the police vehicle) nor are authorities identifying the cop involved.
With Seattle pd, it’s a pretty sure bet the cops have done something nefarious.
Was there a call to service or did they just come up on this person randomly? They’d be in trouble for rolling to a call without lights on for sure.
I’m curious if there was video why they’d not want to release it immediately which is, I’m sure, your point. My guess is the city is trying to understand what happened first themselves then set a narrative. The city doesn’t have a good record releasing video upon a foia request. Seattle Times is or was suing them because of that.
