Family sues City of Skiatook after man dies during police chase

SKIATOOK, Okla. — The estate of Michael McKee is suing the City of Skiatook for wrongful death a year after he was killed after a police pursuit that ended in Tulsa on Memorial Day of last year.

According to a report from Tulsa Police who investigated the incident, a Skiatook police officer hit McKee with her police cruiser while his bike was in a “still and upright position,” but according to the report, that’s not what the officer initially told investigators.

The officer told investigators she began chasing McKee in Skiatook because someone reported him to be speeding and almost hit them. The report says she claims he didn’t stop when she put on her lights and she chased him down Hwy 11 going over 100 miles per hour at some points.

The report says Mckee stated her supervisor told her to terminate the chase if she didn’t have a backing officer, but she claimed she did.

She said she chased McKee through the barriers that blocked the road near Peoria and 31st then saw his bike had crashed, and McKee had been thrown from the bike. She says she hit the bike after McKee had already crashed.

But the investigator’s report says that McKee was on the bike at the time of the collision and there was no evidence of it making any movement.

It says “McKee was still on the motorcycle when he was struck from behind. The impact caused him to be thrown from the motorcycle.”

The medical examiner’s report says the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries and that McKee had meth and amphetamines in his system at the time of death.

Mark Lyons, the attorney who filed the suit says the officer should have never pursued McKee outside of her jurisdiction and that his death was preventable.

He wants to see the Tulsa County DA charge the officer involved criminally.

“He had surrendered, he was giving up and she ran into him at 37 miles an hour without any skid marks, none,” Lyons said. “I guarantee you, if it was the other way around and a citizen had hit a police officer going 37 miles per hour, they’d never be out of jail again.”

The DA tells us they’re still investigating.

“To me, it seems completely appropriate that criminal charges are filed on this officer or someone needs to come out and tell me why she gets to be treated differently than anyone else who would do this,” Lyons continued.

We reached out to the Skiatook Police Department and the City of Skiatook. The police department says their information coordinator and chief are on vacation.

The city said they did not know about the lawsuit and will get back to us once they learn more.

McKee’s estate is seeking $10 million in damages for wrongful death.

“Your authority ends at the ends of your jurisdiction,” Lyons said. “It was a speeding charge, the world isn’t going to come to an end if she doesn’t chase a speeder.”