Six North Carolina officers have been put on leave after video showed the deadly tasing of a Black man who complained of heart problems.
32-year-old Darryl Tyree Williams died in a Raleigh hospital on January 17 after police tased him multiple times during an attempted arrest for alleged drug possession, per the New York Post.
On Friday (February 10), police released roughly 12-minute-long footage of the moments leading up to William's fatal arrest.
Raleigh officers were conducting "proactive patrols" of an area said to have a history of criminal violations when they spotted Williams in a vehicle with marijuana and an open container of alcohol, according to police. Officers attempted to detain Williams for possession of a controlled substance after they found a folded dollar bill with white powder in his pocket.
Police later said they found two weapons in the vehicle, one of which had been reported as stolen. It's unclear if Williams was armed at the time of the arrest.
In the newly-released footage, Williams can be heard questioning why he is being arrested. Officers told Williams that if didn't put his hands behind his back, they would use a Taser.
Police ultimately tased Williams three times despite his pleas for them to stop due to his "heart problems."
“I’ve got heart problems,” he pleaded with officers, per the police footage. “Please! Please!”
Williams lost consciousness on the scene. Police and EMS were unable to resuscitate him, and he died about an hour after being transported to the hospital. His official cause of death is still under investigation.
The Raleigh Police Department announced that six officers were placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. The State Bureau of Investigation has also launched a probe into the deadly arrest.
Williams’ mother said her son was racially profiled.
“That was my baby and he did not deserve to die that way,” she told the Washington Post.
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