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Darryl Tyree Williams allegedly yelled that he had heart problems as six Raleigh, North Carolina police officers tased him during a Jan. 17 arrest, according to a preliminary report issued Monday by the Raleigh Police Department.
After becoming unresponsive and showing no signs of a pulse, police and an EMS team tried to resuscitate Williams, who was taken to a hospital where he died an hour later, the report said.
As an internal investigation continues, Williams’ mother, Sonya, said, “I’m just trying to cope with this as best I can. My emotions (are) just everywhere. I just can’t comprehend that this happened to my son.”
The report said two cops stunned him three times without naming which two of the six were directly involved. C.D. Robinson, J.T. Thomas, D.L. Aquino, J.R. Scott, D.L. Grande, and B L. Ramge were named as the present officers.
Raleigh Police report paints Darryl Tyree Williams as a stereotypical Black victim
All officers were in uniform and driving marked cars when the incident was recorded on body cameras and dash cameras, the report said. The police department is also expected to petition for the release of the footage.
ABC News reports around 1:55 a.m., Robinson and Thomas were conducting a patrol of Rock Quarry Road and asked for backup, to which Aquino responded.
“This location has a history of repeat calls for service for drugs, weapons, and other criminal violations,” according to the police report.
The officers report finding Williams along with an unidentified person in a car, and also allegedly found an open container and marijuana. Officer Robinson allegedly found a dollar bill “containing a white powdery substance consistent with the appearance of cocaine,” in Williams’ pocket and proceeded to arrest him.
Williams allegedly resisted getting handcuffed, which prompted the officers to call for backup. The officers claim they gave verbal warnings to comply or he would be tased, and Robinson deployed his Taser after Williams allegedly didn’t obey the order, according to the report.
Officers state the weapon temporarily stunned Williams, but he allegedly kept resisting. Williams allegedly broke away from the officers and ran a short distance before losing his balance and falling forward.
When officers caught up to him, they were joined by officers Grande and Ramge, and the struggle allegedly continued. “Over the course of 50 seconds, there were two separate Taser deployments in the drive stun mode,” the report said, referring to the weapon’s mode when it “is placed in direct contact with the body.”
Officer Thomas made contact with his Taser on Williams’ side, while Officer Robinson made contact with his Taser on the left side of Mr. Williams’ back, the report said.
It was at this point that Williams was heard saying, “I have heart problems,” the report, citing the unreleased body camera footage, said.
ABC News reports while the officers waited for an EMS unit to come to the scene, Williams, who was handcuffed, allegedly was unresponsive, not breathing and without a pulse, the report said. Officers allegedly performed CPR on Williams until EMS crews arrived on the scene and took over resuscitation efforts and transported him to a hospital.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is conducting an independent criminal investigation and will present its findings directly to the Wake County District Attorney for review, the report said. The Raleigh Police Internal Affairs Unit is also conducting a probe.
Williams’ death came two weeks after Keenan Anderson, the cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, died at a hospital on Jan. 3 about four and a half hours after he was shocked with a Taser by LAPD officers during an arrest.
His death and the officers’ actions are also under investigation.
On Friday, the family of Anderson, the 31-year-old cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, filed a $50 million wrongful death claim against the city of Los Angeles — claiming he died because cops repeatedly tasered him after a traffic accident.