After man’s death, CMPD vows to more closely monitor those in its custody
Following the death of a man in custody, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police announced a policy change Friday that will require officers to constantly monitor those police are holding.
“From now on from initial contact ... we have to ensure that due care is taken and that means we’re in constant or at least continual observation of those people,” CMPD Police Chief Kerr Putney said.
Officers can monitor those in custody — from the initial arrest to transport to those in interview rooms — in person or through video systems, he said.
The change comes less than two weeks after Harold Jermaine Easter, 41, experienced what police have said was a “life-threatening medical emergency” and lost consciousness while being processed for arrest in a CMPD sub-station.
Easter’s family, who has called for transparency in his death, has said that doctors told them Easter suffered a heart attack.
On Friday, Putney said officers rendered aid to Easter as soon as they realized he was not well. Last week, Putney also said there was no use of force involved in Easter’s death.
Citing the ongoing investigation, Putney refused to say whether the officers followed CMPD’s previous protocol of checking in with suspects held in interview rooms every 15 minutes. Police have also refused to say how long Easter was in their custody before he became ill or whether he was alone when he lost consciousness.
As for whether officers have historically followed the 15-minute guideline, Putney said officers generally exercise their own discretion given the state of the suspect and the circumstances of the arrest.
“It’s just kind of common sense that you check on them periodically,” he said.
The SBI is investigating the death after Easter’s family asked that an outside agency review the case.
Following the SBI investigation, Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather will look at the findings to determine whether the officers followed the law. In a separate internal affairs investigation, CMPD will determine whether its officers followed department policy and procedures.
Four officers and a sergeant have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
