Nov 22, 2015 - Tulalip Tribal Member Dies in Police Custody

On September 18th, Tulalip tribal member Cecil D. Lacy Jr died while in police custody.  The incident happened around 10 p.m. on the Tulalip Tribes reservation, located 1-hour north of Seattle, WA, when two Tulalip Tribal Police officers and a Snohomish Country Sheriff’s deputy responded to a report of a man walking in the road.

Officers report that they sought to detain Lacy to place into protective custody when he began to fight with them when they attempted to place him in the patrol car.  During the altercation, Lacy became unresponsive and died.  Police used an electronic stun gun to try to subdue Lacy.

The Snohomish County’s chief medical examiner recently concluded that Lacy’s death was an “accident”.  His death continues to be investigated by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team.

On November 20th, Lacy’s family issued a statement.

“It is premature to draw any definitive conclusions regarding the death of our loved one.  There remains far more questions than answers about the circumstances of his death. We will continue to suspend judgment until better information is available about the cause of his death.”

Activists in the #BlackLivesMatter movement have helped draw international attention to the issue of police violence.  In 2015, over 1,000 people have been killed by the police.