Man at center of police beating was having 'a mental episode' in second incident, police say

Kyron Hinton, the 29-year-old man who was the subject of a beating that led to criminal charges against three law enforcement officers, called 911 early Sunday to report a shooting near his mother's home in south Raleigh.

There was no shooting. But Hinton, who appeared to be having "a mental episode," assaulted a deputy who responded to Golden Avenue, the Wake County Sheriff's Office has said.

Hinton and his mother both called 911 that night — Hinton to say that someone had been shot, and his mother to say that she needed help.

"I need somebody to come immediately," Hinton told a dispatcher. "Can you send someone immediately?"

When the dispatcher asked if he saw the shooting or heard gunfire, Hinton repeated, "Somebody got shot. Can you send someone immediately?"

The dispatcher then asked if he saw the shooting.

"Yeah," Hinton answered. "Yes."

Meanwhile, his mother, Vicki Hinton, called 911 asking for help.

"I need to get my son home," she told a dispatcher. "He feels like someone wants to hurt him."

"Your son is on the other line," the dispatcher said. "He's telling us somebody's been shot."

"I don't know about all that," Vicki Hinton replied.

Minutes after deputies arrived, officers reported that no one had been shot or injured. Hinton appeared to be in the throes of a "possible mental episode," an officer said over radio traffic.

Paramedics arrived, and Hinton's mother and deputies helped him get to the ambulance, according to the sheriff's office.

"Once in the ambulance, Mr. Hinton became combative and resisted treatment," the sheriff's office reported. "During the evaluation, Mr. Hinton kicked a deputy."

Kyron Hinton was involved in an April 3 incident in Raleigh. Cameron Broadwell, a Wake County sheriff's deputy, and Michael Blake and Tabithia Davis, Highway Patrol troopers, face felony assault charges in the beating of Hinton.

Kyron Hinton was standing in the middle of Raleigh Boulevard near Yonkers Road that night. Raleigh police officers and highway patrol troopers were standing around him.

Videos from police dash cameras and body cameras show a calm situation until Broadwell arrives with a police dog. The dog attacks Kyron Hinton, who says he also suffered a broken nose and fractured eye socket during the encounter.

Vicki Hinton said a sheriff's deputy was the first to arrive at her home early Sunday morning after she and her son called 911.

Upon seeing the deputy, Vicki Hinton said her son cried out, "Please don't let them kill me!"

Kyron Hinton's advocate, Diana Powell, who is executive director of Justice Served NC, expressed concern Sunday about his mental condition.

"Mr. Hinton experienced another phobia attack as result of the recent trauma at the hands of law enforcement and a weaponized police dog," Powell said during a press conference.

The deputy's "presence and the thought of the presence of a police dog further disoriented Mr. Hinton," Powell said. "Mr. Hinton has been unable to work and exhibiting symptoms of PTSD in the aftermath of the disgusting use of force by police two months ago. ... It is sickening."

Powell said that Kyron Hinton has exhibited symptoms, including paranoia and difficulty sleeping, and she described the 29-year-old as "someone who is clearly ailing and afraid."

This story was originally published June 5, 2018 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Man at center of police beating was having 'a mental episode' in second incident, police say."