‘Left him alone to die.’ Woman sues Charlotte, ex-CMPD officers in brother’s death

Joe Marusak
·3 min read

The sister of a man who died in police custody has sued five former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers and the city of Charlotte, saying the officers failed to get her brother medical help after watching him swallow cocaine, beg for water and tell them he couldn’t breathe.

“Instead, CMPD either handcuffed or shackled him, denied him water, and left him alone to die,” Andrell Mackey said in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Mecklenburg County Superior Court.

Mackey’s brother, 41-year-old Harold Easter, died on Jan. 26, 2020, three days after his arrest and detainment in a police station, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

The city is responsible, too, for what happened to her brother, Mackey said in the lawsuit, in part because it’s responsible for ensuring officers are adequately trained.

Her lawsuit seeks “more than $25,000” in damages, which is the minimum amount required for such civil lawsuits to be filed and considered in court.

City spokesman Cory Burkarth on Saturday declined to comment about the lawsuit.

Police chief reaction

Documents released by CMPD later in 2020 revealed the officers knew Easter put drugs in his mouth, which Easter admitted to during his arrest.

The four officers and a sergeant were cited for termination by Police Chief Johnny Jennings for not following policy of seeking medical assistance for Easter, and all five resigned from the force, the Observer reported at the time.

The resignations came just two days ahead of the release of police video footage showing Easter shackled to the floor of the CMPD interview room, alone, as he suffered heart issues and seizure.

Charlotte officers face firing. Police chief says arrested man was left alone before dying.

“It’s difficult to watch and to know that had our officers followed our policy, that Mr. Easter may be alive today, and had offered more concern for the sanctity of Mr. Easter’s life, we may not be looking at such a tragic outcome,” Jennings told the Observer in September 2020.

The CMPD Metro Division officers involved were Brentley Vinson, Michael Benfield, Michael Joseph and Shon Sheffield, and the sergeant was Nicolas Vincent, the Observer previously reported.

All five are listed as defendants in Mackey’s lawsuit, along with the city.

Charlotte officers face firing. Police chief says arrested man was left alone before dying.

The officers failed to take Easter to the hospital or give him medical aid until he had what appeared to be a seizure and lost consciousness inside a police interview room, according to police documents and Alex Heroy, the lawyer representing Easter’s family in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed last week.

Shackled to the floor

A review of internal police documents, released in September 2020 by CMPD, showed the officers saw residue on Easter’s tongue and discussed how much of the substance he’d swallowed as he was being arrested during a drug investigation just outside uptown Charlotte on Jan. 23 that year.

At a police substation, Easter was strip-searched, shackled to the floor and left unattended for at least 20 minutes as he began having life-threatening health issues.

Jennings, in announcing he had recommended the officers be fired, said the four officers and sergeant had “intimate knowledge” that Easter had swallowed cocaine during the traffic stop that led to his arrest.

The Observer had previously reported the officers and sergeant failed to follow a long-standing CMPD policy that states anyone suspected to have ingested drugs must be evaluated by Medic before being taken to jail.

‘You’ve got cocaine on your tongue.’ CMPD officers didn’t call Medic despite police policy.

“Abject failure,” D.A. says

Also in September 2020, District Attorney Spencer Merriweather described Easter’s death as an “abject failure” on police procedures.

But Merriweather said he lacked proof that a crime occurred and the officers wouldn’t be criminally charged for involuntary manslaughter.

Mayor’s condolences

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles earlier expressed condolences to the Easter family and praised Jennings’ accountability.

The officers and sergeant must be held responsible, Lyles said at the time.

“I did not support the idea that you should be able to avoid the action or the consequences of an investigation and take retirement and move on. It’s just not that simple anymore,” she said.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Dow Jones Futures: Market Rallies, But Big Tests Loom; Tesla Soars On 'Affordable' EV, Elon Musk

    The rally attempt gained steam Tuesday. Tesla leapt late as it said an "affordable" EV is coming. Elon Musk is on the call.

  • Suns guard Grayson Allen aggravates ankle injury in 3rd quarter vs. Timberwolves

    Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen appeared to aggravate the sprained right ankle he suffered in the playoff opener, forcing him to hobble off in the third quarter of Game 2 against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first-round series on Tuesday. Allen was guarding Mike Conley on a drive to the lane when he went airborne to try to block the shot and landed awkwardly on his right leg. The Suns had listed Allen, who led the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage this season, as questionable.

  • Riley Greene homers twice and Mark Canha goes deep to power Tigers past Rays 4-1

    ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Riley Greene went deep twice for his first multi-homer game, Mark Canha added a homer and the Detroit Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Tuesday night. The Tigers have won the first two of the three-game set and have won four of their last five games. With the Tigers trailing 2-1 in the eighth, Greene hit a two-shot off Colin Poche (0-1) and Canha added a solo drive to make it 4-2. Greene put the Tigers ahead 1-0 in the third inning with a 426-foot homer to center

  • Mayors push for permanent homeless funding

    Mayors are pushing for permanent funding for homeless funding.

  • Funding for drop-in youth centers at risk

    Funding for drop-in youth centers is at risk.

  • Huge protest in Argentina against education cuts

    Thousands marched in Buenos Aires on Tuesday calling on President Milei to preserve university funding.

  • Megan Thee Stallion’s Attorney Denies Former Photographer’s Harassment Allegations: An ‘Attempt to Embarrass Her’

    Megan Thee Stallion’s former photo and videographer alleges he was forced to witness her having sex with a woman in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles. Plaintiff Emilio Garcia is also accusing the Texas-born entertainer of harassment and a hostile work environment. Garcia names Roc Nation (who manages Megan) and Megan’s touring and entrainment …

  • Rep. Summer Lee, Slammed For Backing Gaza Cease-Fire, Wins Democratic Primary

    The Squad member had a warning for fellow progressives likely to face similar attacks.

  • Cal Poly Humboldt closes campus after pro-Palestinian protesters take over

    Cal Poly Humboldt has closed its campus through Wednesday after pro-Palestinian protesters barricaded themselves inside a building.

  • Beyoncé shuts down wig ‘misconceptions’ as she shows off her natural hair

    ‘It ain’t nobody’s business,’ the pop star says

  • Where do things start with the near-total abortion ban in Arizona?

    Where does the near-total abortion ban stand in Arizona with just a few weeks left before it takes effect.

  • Braelon Allen on being NFL draft’s youngest player: ‘I always pushed myself to take that next step’

    The Wisconsin running back spoke to Yahoo Sports’ Woody Wommack in Detroit about how his high school days on defense helped his approach as an offensive player for the Badgers and why his age has not been a question amongst NFL teams. Braelon joined Yahoo Sports on behalf of Head & Shoulders.

  • Local artists using art to create more beautiful, safer Tempe streets

    A group of local artists has been working to make Tempe not only a safer place for bicyclists and drivers but a more beautiful one. The city's Adaptive Streets Project aims to perform major facelifts on intersections and bike lanes, including adding murals to the areas. The program, which has been in the works for several years, is a low-cost strategy for the city to make improvements that can be “implemented quickly.”

  • Max Fried throws Atlanta's first 9-inning complete game since 2022, beats Marlins 5-0

    ATLANTA (AP) — Max Fried pitched a three-hitter for Atlanta's first nine-inning complete game since 2022, Adam Duvall had a two-run homer and and the Atlanta Braves blanked the Miami Marlins for the second night in a row, 5-0 on Tuesday. After a dismal start, Fried (2-0) has recaptured the form that makes him one of baseball's top starters. It helped to be facing the struggling Marlins, who dropped to 6-19 and have gone 20 innings without scoring a run. They remained 0-for-Atlanta after getting

  • Remnants of bird flu virus found in pasteurized milk, FDA says

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that samples of pasteurized milk had tested positive for remnants of the bird flu virus that has infected dairy cows. The agency stressed that the material is inactivated and that the findings “do not represent actual virus that may be a risk to consumers.” Officials added that they're continuing to study the issue. “To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the FDA said in a stateme

  • Kim Kardashian Posts Photo with Karlie Kloss amid Taylor Swift Album Release

    The SKIMS founder shared a group selfie alongside Kloss to her Instagram Stories on April 22

  • Cool Kids Comedy Club helps kids learn and build confidence one joke at a time

    The mission of Cool Kids Comedy Club is to teach students essential life and literacy skills through the art of comedy. It's the brainchild of comedian Kayla Howard, who is also a former teacher. She combined her passions to help kids learn and build them up in a fun way. "I love laughing and I wanted to give that to kids," said Howard, "I thought about a way to impact the community in a positive way through comedy and I resorted back to my teaching experience and how much fun I had being in the classroom with kids and I thought that Cool Kids Comedy Club would be like the perfect combination of education but also fun."

  • Aaron Carter's twin sister Angel to release late singer's posthumous album: 'Learn from our story'

    Aaron Carter's twin sister, Angel Carter Conrad, talked to CBS Mornings about "The Recovery Album" and the "dysfunction" within the Carter family.

  • DATA: Healthcare jobs on the rise in the Valley, but is it enough?

    One area of the Valley’s economy seeing big job growth is the healthcare sector, but even with impressive growth, it may not be enough to meet the needs of the nearly five million residents. According to the most recent Labor Department data, there are 343,000 healthcare and social services jobs in the Phoenix Metro as of March 2024. This represents a year-over-year increase of 20,000 and well above the per-pandemic high hit in February of 2020. As a job sector, healthcare has more than recovered from COVID-19 with 17% more jobs last month than at the start of the pandemic.

  • Oil prices inch up after data shows unexpected drop in U.S. crude stocks

    Oil prices rose in early trade on Wednesday, adding to gains in the previous session, after industry data showed a surprise drop in U.S. crude stocks last week, a positive sign for demand, and attention shifted away from hostilities in the Middle East. U.S. crude inventories fell 3.237 million barrels in the week ended April 19, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Traders will be watching for the official U.S. data on oil and product stockpiles due at 10:30 a.m. (1430 GMT) for confirmation of the big drawdown.