Fact Sheet on Michael Randall Ealy’s Death

-Michael Randall Ealy, a 35 year old African American, was brutally murdered by Seattle police & American Medical Response attendants on December 28th, 1998 at approximately 10:30 pm, at the 900 block of Dexter Avenue North, in Seattle, Washington.

-Michael was calling for help. There were also citizen calls to 911 for help. The couple living in an apartment on Dexter Avenue stated in their testimony before the inquest jury that Michael's were "pleas for help".

-Michael offered no resistance when Seattle Police Officers, McLaughlin & Traverso arrived on the scene. The American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance was called to transport Michael to Harborview Hospital. The attendants were Danny Hill & Brett Munsey.

-Something happened en route to Harborview, but we do not know what! Michael wanted to go home. His civil rights were violated when Danny Hill used the choke hold on him. Brett Munsey pulled the ambulance over and police Officers Traverso & McLaughlin who were following the ambulance began to struggle with Michael. In the name of trying to restrain Michael, to get him to Harborview for a medical evaluation, they brutalized him. Michael arrived at the hospital with scars all over his body & died of brain damage from suffocation.

-While Michael was dying at the scene, the police and AMR personnel were attending to their minor scratches instead of trying to save his life.

-It took 85 days to get an inquest, which is supposed to determine the facts surrounding Michael's death.

-The questionnaire given to the inquest jury was selective and biased in favor of the AMR attendants and the police. This prevented jurors from determining the true facts about the cause of Michael's death and the responsible parties.

-The inquest jury was not representative of the community. It consisted of five white men and one white woman.

Our Educational Mission: In order to further its educational mission to promote better police/community relations through ongoing dialogue among city government agencies, churches, and neighborhood councils, the Michael Randall Ealy Social Justice Foundation (MESJF) has engaged in the following activities between June 1999 and the present (March 2002):  continued - link