CMPD announces new policy after man dies in police custody

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is changing its policy on how it monitors people in custody amid an investigation into how a man died in police custody.

Police said they arrested Harold Easter on drug trafficking charges. On Jan. 23, an officer saw a suspected drug deal at the corner of Whisnant and Burton streets and pulled Easter over. CMPD said the 42-year-old had cocaine and marijuana in his possession.

He was taken into custody and brought to the Metro Division office for questioning. At some point, police said Easter began having a medical emergency and lost consciousness.

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Officers gave Easter first aid and he was taken to a hospital in a life-threatening condition before dying three days later.

A group of Easter’s family and friends had raised questions about how he died and whether what police did or didn’t do may have somehow led to his death.

“He was a great father, a great brother, a great son,” his sister Andrell Mackey said.

Harold Easter (WSOC)

Loved ones called for an independent investigation. They questioned what happened and whether the police should have gotten Easter to the hospital sooner.

“We don’t care what he had been accused of. The fact is he’s not here today because some people didn’t follow protocol,” his friend, Gemini Boyd, said.

CMPD said it requested the State Bureau of Investigation to conduct an independent investigation into the incident after speaking with family members and the DA.

Chief Kerr Putney said there’s no evidence that Easter died because officers used force in detaining him, but the family wanted an independent investigation and both Putney and District Attorney Spencer Merriweather agreed to call in the SBI.

“I hate that I won’t be able to talk about the details. At this point, I’ll merely say that an investigation is ongoing. I’ve certainly been in touch with agents from the State Bureau of Investigation. We’re going to let that investigation see where the evidence leads us and go from there,” Merriweather said.

“Our hearts go out to the Easter family. This is not easy. It never is,” Putney said.

Internal affairs will conduct its own investigation to ensure CMPD policies and procedures were followed during the incident after the SBI’s inquiry into the case.

On Friday, Putney announced a new policy regarding how police monitor those in custody.

The officers involved with Easter were only required to check on him every 15 minutes.

"I get it. It makes sense. But it's not good enough. We want continual observation,” Putney said.

Now, officers will have to sit with someone in custody or observe them on video at all times.

The policy is not just for those arrested, it’s also witnesses, victims or anyone else police take custody of.

A source told Channel 9 there is body camera video of the officers’ encounter with Easter.

But Scott MacLatchie, an attorney and expert on police cases, said it depends on whether those officers knew early on if Easter was not well.

“Was there anything on the front end that maybe could’ve been done that wasn’t done? Or was this one of those unforeseeable events, because we know around the country that people in custody have sudden medical events,” MacLatchie said.

The department released the names of the five officers who are administrative leave, which is standard during any in-custody death investigation.

Sergeant Nicolas Vincent, who was hired Jan. 28, 2008
Officer Brentley Vinson, who was hired July 21, 2014
Officer Michael Benfield, who was hired Oct. 27, 2014
Officer Michael Joseph, who was hired May 21, 2018
Officer Shon Sheffield, who was hired Aug. 13, 2012

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