Wake County man beaten by police died later of homicide and drug overdose, official says

Kyron Hinton, the Raleigh man wounded by a K-9 police dog in 2018, died of cocaine toxicity but also neck injuries that caused pathologists to classify his death as a homicide, the Wake County district attorney said Thursday.

Hinton died in February from causes unrelated to the dog assault, a day after receiving an $83,000 settlement from Wake County.

His mother, Vicki, said he suffered from longstanding mental health and drug abuse issues. But she refused to believe he had died of an overdose and has described her son’s death as a deliberate slaying.

“Homicide,” she said Thursday. “I never thought my child would leave me this way. But he’s gone now. He’s very much missed and loved. I love him very much, and I hope that the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help us all God, will come out.”

District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Raleigh police will continue to investigate Hinton’s death.

“Certainly we feel for the family, for their loss, and understand that Mr. Hinton had a challengnig life in many ways,” she said.

In April 2018, officers responded to a 911 call reporting a man standing in the middle of Raleigh Boulevard, possibly holding a gun. A North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper and four Raleigh police officers found Hinton screaming and waving his arms near the intersection of Yonkers Road, holding a cellphone in one hand and his genitals in the other.

They formed a circle around him and waited, one officer holding a Taser behind his back.

Wake County Sheriff’s Deputy Cameron Broadwell came on the scene with a dog as the officers waited, and a video shown to jurors earlier this month showed him rushing up to Hinton as the dog barked and pulled at its leash.

Broadwell did not speak to any of the other officers. He yelled, “Get on the ground now or you’re gonna get bit,” then released the dog and swung his arm toward Hinton’s head.

He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in the case and was fired.

Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker said his office is reviewing its K-9 policy.

In February, emergency crews were called to the 700 block of Cooper Road in East Raleigh. Hinton was taken to WakeMed, where he was pronounced dead.

His mother called the scene of his death a “good time house” and she urged anyone with information to contact police.

“Kyron would not have been there if he was not participating in something illegal,” she said. “He did love cocaine. But he also loved life.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2019 at 8:11 AM.