Raleigh police cleared of any wrongdoing in death of drug suspect

Raleigh police officers have been absolved of any wrongdoing following an investigation into the January death of a man who had been in custody.

No charges will be filed, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Wednesday. She said there is no basis for further investigation or prosecution in the death of Curtis Mangum.

The chief medical examiner, in a report released Wednesday, determined that Mangum died because of acute cocaine and alcohol intoxication.

Mangum, of Raleigh, was arrested on felony drug charges hours before he died at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh on Jan. 11.

The district attorney's decision to not file charges against the officers rankled Mangum's family. But they were not surprised, said Kimberly Muktarian, founder of the Raleigh nonprofit Save Our Sons and the Mangum family spokeswoman.

In a news release Wednesday to The News & Observer, Muktarian stated that four mothers have lost five sons over the past five years at the hands of Raleigh police.

"As a teacher within the Wake County Detention Center and advocate within the community, please note that this matter is not a single incident but a culture and practice," Muktarian said. "There are many young men who are ready to testify as it relates to them being choked out privately by officers to remove drugs from their persons."

Mangum, the father of a teen daughter, was a passenger in a car that was stopped by police at a Southeast Raleigh intersection at about 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 10. The driver of the car told the officer that there was a firearm in the car, and the officer asked everyone to step outside while other officers could search the vehicle and locate the weapon, Freeman stated in the report.

Mangum at first did not comply with the officer's request and was eventually removed from the car after he stuck his arms out of the vehicle. The police searched the car's occupants and found Mangum was in possession of an ounce of marijuana, .5 grams of cocaine, a small scale and plastic bags, Freeman reported.

"Shortly thereafter, officers observed that he appeared to be chewing or manipulating something in his mouth," Freeman said in the report. "He was told to spit out whatever was in his mouth. He denied that he had anything in his mouth. His mouth was checked, and nothing was located."

The officers at the scene transported the car occupants, including Mangum, to a police precinct in the Southeast District on Cross Link Road for a more thorough search.

"While at the substation, Mr. Mangum was asked again if he had ingested anything, including by one of the other passengers in the car, and again denied having done so," Freeman said.

Meanwhile, the officer who drove Mangum to the police precinct reported that Mangum was displaying signs of behavior that "were consistent with impairment," Freeman reported.

Police, at 11:17 p.m., contacted Wake County Emergency Medical Services to check on Mangum. He walked unassisted to the ambulance when paramedics arrived, but became "agitated and was handcuffed to the stretcher," Freeman reported.

The attending paramedic also reported that Mangum appeared to be impaired and his speech was incoherent, Freeman stated.

By the time the ambulance arrived at the WakeMed emergency department, Mangum's condition had further deteriorated. Medical officials treated him for several hours, but he was pronounced dead at about 2:15 a.m. by an attending physician, Freeman reported.

Soon after he died, rumors circulating on social media asserted that Mangum had died while he was inside the police station.

Raleigh officials asked a judge to release video footage that showed him entering and exiting the police precinct station on Cross Link Road. He entered the building at 11:16 p.m. and walked outside of the building to meet with paramedics at 11:32 p.m.

Despite the release of the police video footage, Muktarian remains unconvinced. She said that when police are unsuccessful in their attempts to recover drugs from suspects, the officers escort them to jail instead of the hospital.

Muktarian said that Mangum was already being investigated for drug activity when he was pulled over and that police were well aware that there is a 50-50 chance of an individual swallowing an illegal substance to avoid arrest.

"Curtis was on probation and this could have violated him," Muktarian stated, "meaning the stakes are higher. ... That is why they sent an undercover for a surprise attack."

Thomasi McDonald: 919-829-4533, @thomcdonald

This story was originally published March 28, 2018 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Raleigh police cleared of any wrongdoing in death of drug suspect."