‘It is not over’: Family demands justice 1 year after fatal encounter with Raleigh police

In a Southeast Raleigh parking lot, Jamel Meredith poured out tequila on the black pavement before a large photo of his brother Darryl “Tyree” Williams that rested on a tripod, surrounded by flowers and candles flickering in the dark cold night.

“You give a sip to the dead,” said Meredith, 38.

Meredith was one of about 25 people who celebrated Williams’ life Wednesday on the one-year anniversary of his death. Williams died Jan. 17, 2023, after he was tased four times by Raleigh police officers, according to a Wake County District Attorney’s report on the death. He was 32.

Those who gathered Wednesday — at the same location of the tasing encounter — continued their calls for Raleigh police to be held accountable.

“Even though the district attorney chose not to charge those officers who viciously murdered Darryl Williams, that don’t mean we give up, y’all,” said Kerwin Pittman, who works with civil rights organization Emancipate N.C.

“We keep fighting for justice, y’all,” he said. “Because it is not over.”

What happened to Darryl Williams

A year ago, on Jan. 17, 2023, around 1:55 a.m. a “proactive patrol” by police in Southeast Raleigh evolved into a struggle among six officers and Williams.

Officers were patrolling Rock Quarry Road when they saw a car outside a sweepstakes parlor, according to Raleigh police. Officers had been called to the address hundreds of times in the previous year, according to a report by Wake District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.

An officer approached the car and found two people inside with an open container of alcohol, police said. Officers asked the two people to step out, police said in a report that was released days after Williams died.

The police searched the car and patted down Williams, who was unarmed. An officer found in his pants pocket a folded dollar bill that police said had a white powdery substance that was consistent with cocaine.

Officers attempted to arrest Williams, but he started to run. Officers then grabbed him and attempted to take him in custody.

Williams ignored officers’ demands and prevented them from handcuffing him, the report said. After police used a Taser on him at least twice, he asked them to stop.

“I have heart problems. Please ... please. Please!,” Williams says, according to body-camera footage.

Police said officers didn’t hear his pleas.

Williams stopped moving and talking after being tased again. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3 a.m.

After successfully seeking a court order, Raleigh released body camera footage of the encounter Feb. 10.

DA report

Williams died from sudden cardiac arrest stemming from being tased, cocaine use, physical exertion and physical restraint, according to an autopsy released in June by the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The autopsy also confirmed what Williams and his family told police: he had a history of an “unspecified irregular heartbeat.”

That same month, Freeman said there were no grounds for criminal charges against the officers involved in the encounter with Williams. State law allows officers to use force to take someone in custody if they have committed a criminal offense, Freeman’s report states.

Freeman pointed out in her report that her ruling didn’t prevent a city review and potential revision of police practices and how they interact with the community.

Raleigh police didn’t respond to questions on Wednesday about whether the officers have been or will be disciplined in the case.

On Wednesday night, Williams’ mother and grandmother attended the vigil. Since Williams’ death, his mother, Sonya Williams, has been working to learn what happened to her son and hold the involved officers accountable.

Eunice Towns, Williams’ grandmother, said Wednesday night was the first time she could participate in such public events, as it took time for her broken heart to adapt to the death, she said.

Pending lawsuit

The family is working with Emancipate NC as well as noted national civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Since Williams’ death, his family and their attorneys have held three press conferences calling for officers to be fired and charged with crimes, but that hasn’t happened, they said.

Pittman said he expects a civil lawsuit to be filed in coming days or weeks.

Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove described Southeast Raleigh as an “open-air prison” where Black people are mistreated and killed by police in their own community. She encouraged the group to take steps, not just for Williams, but for others in the community who will encounter police in the future.

Blagrove encouraged those who attended Wednesday to fight for justice by voting in local elections. She would like the city to adopt a program that sends unarmed teams to respond to behavior, health and quality of life calls for service.

“We should not have to file lawsuits to create accountability,” Blagrove said.

The group will, however, because that appears to be the only way to get officials to hold police accountable, Blagrove said.

After Williams died, Sonya Williams said she thought someone would be held accountable. She thought the officers would be charged, she said, or at least fired.

That hasn’t happened. Now, she hopes that the pending civil lawsuit will bring another form of justice, she said.

Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.