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‘Everyone is accountable.’ Charlotte mother questions EMS response in son’s death during arrest

Christa Williams has questions, but for months she’s had no answers.

The grieving mother said she still doesn’t understand why her son, Jovontay Williams, died at a hospital last June after being arrested by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. Body camera footage released Thursday did little to assuage her concerns, she said.

Instead it raised more questions on the police’s handling of her son and a slow response by emergency services, Williams said.

“For eight months I had no information about (what caused) my son’s death,” Christa Williams said Friday outside of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police headquarters. “He meant a lot to us. He meant a lot to a lot of people.”

She was joined by family and civil rights advocates to discuss the release of the footage, the questions raised and the life of her son. She said she was also at headquarters to finally receive her son’s belongings that were with him when he died.

Around 2 a.m. on June 13, police responded to a report of shots fired near a home in the 300 block of Featherstone Drive in northeast Charlotte. Upon arrival police arrested Williams who had been reportedly yelling and “acting erratically,” according to CMPD. He later suffered an unspecified medical emergency.

Christa Williams said she did not receive even a condolence for her loss from emergency services until the day the body camera footage was released. At that time someone from Charlotte Fire contacted her.

“Now we’re sitting here waiting to find justice for my son,” she said.

Jovontay Williams and his younger sister, Jessica, at a Johnson C. Smith University football game. Williams died in CMPD police and hospital custody at Atrium Health Cabarrus on June 13, 2022. Courtesy of Christa Williams
Jovontay Williams and his younger sister, Jessica, at a Johnson C. Smith University football game. Williams died in CMPD police and hospital custody at Atrium Health Cabarrus on June 13, 2022. Courtesy of Christa Williams

Police had a duty to attend to her son’s medical problem once he was handcuffed, she said. She is still fighting to ensure justice is served for her son. She added the blame is shared.

“Everyone is accountable,” Christa Williams said. “They dropped the ball all around.”

Police put Williams into a “recovery” position after he was handcuffed. This involves officers placing someone in medical distress on their side to monitor them, the Observer previously reported.

Charlotte Fire, instead of an ambulance crew, was sent after CMPD officers first radioed for medical help. Once on scene firefighters called Medic back in order for Williams to get treatment.

Medic released a statement Thursday saying they are “committed to the Medical Incident Review process that upholds our high standards of care.” It’s unclear what that internal investigation will include.

The family is represented by Hunter & Everage, a Charlotte-based law firm. Williams said an independent autopsy was provided through Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp organization. The organization started its Autopsy Initiative last year to provide free, secondary autopsies, NPR first reported.

The family declined to share the private autopsy result.

The family is still waiting on the results of an autopsy performed by the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office, Christa Williams said. Her son’s exact cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.

John Barnett, a civil rights advocate, said the body camera footage released was “disturbing.” He said medical attention should’ve been given at the scene. But the tragedy highlighted the challenge people of color still face today, he said.

“George Floyd said he could not breathe,” Barnett said. “(Jovontay) said he could not breathe as well.”

Police footage

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police released body camera footage Thursday showing a nearly 19 minute wait for Medic to respond while Williams was in clear medical distress while being arrested. Medic, the ambulance service agency in Charlotte, says its leaders are reviewing what happened.

The footage released Thursday showed no apparent struggle or fight with police as officers handcuffed Williams.

Williams, 32, died in custody at Atrium Health Cabarrus on June 13, 2022, hours after the early morning encounter with police. He had a 3-year old son at the time of his death and played football at Johnson C. Smith University from 2012 to 2014, the Charlotte Observer previously reported.

After calling for medical help, CMPD officers waited with Williams, surrounding him on the ground and holding down his arms and legs as he periodically shouted, groaned and jerked his body in what appeared to be involuntary motions. It’s not clear why but Medic officials dispatched fire department personnel instead of an ambulance initially.

Nearly 19 minutes later, Medic first responders arrived and Williams was carried off the porch, to a stretcher, and taken to a nearby hospital.

The State Bureau of Investigation investigated Williams’ death in custody and sent the findings to District Attorney Spencer Merriweather. CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said the Mecklenburg DA concluded no criminal charges were appropriate against the officers involved.

Williams did not have a history of any medical issues, according to his mother.