CMPD reports in-custody death of man who had ‘medical episode’ during stop

A man detained by police at a traffic stop early Friday morning experienced a “medical episode” while in the back of a patrol vehicle and later died, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

A police statement said the traffic stop was just after 3:30 a.m. in the 800 block of Eastway Drive.

The name of the 35-year-old Black man was redacted in a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report that lists his “injury type” as loss of consciousness.

Police stopped a vehicle because it didn’t have a license plate and then put the driver in the back of a police patrol vehicle while officers searched his car, the statement said.

“While the subject was detained in the patrol vehicle, he began to experience a medical episode,” the statement said. “Officers immediately began rendering aid and called for Medic.”

He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Police did not release further details of the traffic stop or release the identity of the person who died, but said in the statement that “officers located and seized suspected illegal narcotics” during the search.

The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation will look into the death.

This story was originally published September 26, 2025 at 8:20 AM.