Miami, Florida
December 17, 1979
Agencies: Miami-Dade Police Department Florida
Cause of death: Beating
Last updated: over 5 years ago
Arthur Lee McDuffie 33, December 17, 1979 Miami FL – McDuffie was supposedly doing daredevil stunts on his motorcycle when police spotted him. After a high-speed chase, McDuffie was caught. At least a dozen police officers encircled him. For 20 minutes, according to reports, they beat him with nightsticks and flashlights. Four days later, after slipping into a coma he died. The police officers wrote up an accident report, saying McDuffie sustained injuries when his motorcycle hit a curb and went out of control. But, the pieces didn’t fit. The Dade County medical examiner became suspicious. Rumors about the “accident” were whispered throughout the police department, prompting an internal investigation of the case. Working together, the medical examiner and police investigators found that McDuffie was handcuffed when he was beaten. The killing blow had crashed into his forehead at 90 times the force of gravity. Murdered by Miami PD