Man who died in cuffs identified
Updated: Sep 21
Medical examiner identifies man detained by SPD who died Sept 12 on Airport Way S
(This story was updated Sept. 21 to reflect new details released by a police investigation team.)
The King County Medical Examiner identified the man who died Sept. 12 on Airport Way S.
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 Pearson was spotted laying on the sidewalk in the 6000 block of Airport Way S after he was "engaged in a disturbance" in front of a business. He was unable to clearly speak or support 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.
Body camera footage provided to investigators showed officers deciding to place Pearson in custody and take him to a hospital.
About 5 minutes after paramedics arrived, Pearson lost consciousness.
Lifesaving measures were attempted by first responders. They could not resuscitate him.
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.
I Would love to know the timeline between when officers first arrived on the scene of a man in distress, and the time medical assistance was requested. It should have a gap of 30 seconds or less, if any at all.
The safest place for the man would have been uncuffed in the back seat of a cruiser. What i believe happened is, like all cops, the hammers saw a potential nail and wanted to run his details, question him, etc, and only called for ems when the man's condition predictably deteriorated.