SEATTLE — King County Executive Ron Sims plans to order an inquest into the death of a Seattle bank executive who died on Oct. 25, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Desseria Whitmore, 52, died while being detained on suspicion of having drug paraphernalia at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
On Friday, the prosecutor’s office asked for the inquest after reviewing Port of Seattle police records in Whitmore’s death.
Whitmore was a longtime assistant vice president at Bank of America and was one of 27 business executives honored as youth mentors by the local YMCA’s Black Achievers Program in 1996.
Police said Whitmore attempted to evade an arresting officer after airport screeners found a drug pipe in her carry-on luggage. In the ensuing struggle, she tried to swallow a bag of cocaine and suffocated, officers said.
A companion who was traveling with Whitmore has disputed the police account. He said Whitmore never tried to run away and that the officer violently threw her to the ground and handcuffed her. He said he never saw her try to swallow a bag.
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