‘The world needs to see what happened,’ sister of Harold Easter says about police video
On Thursday, Andrell Mackey wanted to turn off her phone and avoid the world.
That day, video of her 41-year-old brother Harold “Jermaine” Easter was set to be released to the public. The world would see him being arrested by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, put in handcuffs, and then left in an interview room for an hour where he would eventually have a seizure, get taken to the hospital and die three days later.
“My mind was not here at all,” she said in an interview on Friday. “I was trying to hold back tears, trying to avoid the news.”
Easter died on Jan. 26, three days after his arrest and detainment in a police station. Video and documents from CMPD revealed that the officers who arrested Easter saw him ingest crack cocaine and left him in an interview alone for over 20 minutes. Last month, CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings cited the four CMPD officers and sergeant for termination for failing to follow a long-standing policy of seeking medical help for those who have ingested drugs.
The four officers and sergeant have since resigned. The district attorney also announced last month that the officers will not be charged for involuntary manslaughter.
Mackey, 30, who works as a medical assistant, said the family decided to allow the release of videos a few months ago, partially due to the momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I feel like the world needs to see what happened with what CMPD did to my brother,” she said.
The most graphic portions of the videos released on Thursday show Easter in the interview room where he asks for water and shouts for several minutes before he becomes unconscious. The videos show Easter moaning as he slumps over the table, falling onto the ground and having a seizure. The footage also shows officers discovering him on the ground several minutes later and giving him CPR.
“Every time I close my eyes, every time I wake up, my eyes are reliving this video,” she said.
‘So many acts of kindness’
On Friday evening, Mackey along with friends, children, family members and community members gathered in First Ward Park to remember Easter. Around 30 to 50 people stood near a banner with a picture of Easter printed on it.
The picture of Easter, which was printed onto T-shirts and and a banner, shows him drinking from a plastic bottle of water with #TheMaineWay written on the side.
Mackey said the family chose this image since Easter “begged” for water after he was arrested and while he was in the interview room. The hashtag comes his nickname “Jermaine.” After he died, Mackey said she kept saying “we’re gonna do it his way.”
“It’s called ‘The Maine Way’ because he was such a great person,” she said. “He did so many acts of kindness.”
It was not uncommon for Easter to buy school supplies for children or pay for someone in line at a store, Mackey said.
The group marched to the Black Lives Matter mural on Tryon Street and then back to the park where the event ended with a prayer and a song.
Along the way, people chanted “Say His Name!” and “Black Lives Matter” on a megaphone.
