Wake DA: No murder charges in Kyron Hinton death. ‘God knows what happened,’ says mom.

The Wake County district attorney will not bring charges in the 2019 death of Kyron Hinton, the man wounded in an earlier police dog attack, saying Tuesday there is insufficient evidence to show he was murdered.

Hinton died of cocaine toxicity but also neck injuries that caused medical examiners to call his death a homicide, DA Lorrin Freeman said last year.

He received an $83,000 settlement from Wake County the day before he died, the N&O has reported, as payment in the unrelated dog attack.

In 2018, Raleigh police and a state trooper encircled Hinton while he stood in the middle of Raleigh Boulevard, appearing to pray or yell and declining to move out of the way of traffic.

As they planned their response, Wake County sheriff’s deputy Cameron Broadwell arrived and yelled, “Get on the ground now or you’re gonna get bit” without speaking to the other officers. He then released the dog and swung his arm toward Hinton’s head.

Broadwell pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges last year after Freeman’s office accepted his plea deal. The sheriff fired him.

Death became protesters’ rallying cry

In February 2019, emergency crews were called to Cooper Road in East Raleigh, and Hinton was taken to WakeMed, where he was pronounced dead.

Freeman’s office has been investigating the death since then, and Hinton’s name has become a rallying cry during recent Raleigh protests over police violence.

Freeman said Tuesday the autopsy showed Hinton suffered cardiac arrest from cocaine toxicity but also damage to his throat cartilage and minor blunt-force trauma.

His mother, Vicki Hinton, has long stated her belief that her son was murdered.

Police interviewed several people in the neighborhood and from the house, which Freeman said had multiple reports of drug activity in the months preceding Hinton’s death.

Hinton appeared to have suffered an episode similar to the night on Raleigh Boulevard, Freeman said, and people in the house tried to restrain him. Hinton’s mother has also said her son had a history of mental health issues.

The restraining tactics could account for Hinton’s injuries but there is not enough evidence to connect them or show any intent to cause harm, Freeman said.

It in unclear if he died soon after the episode but it appears other people in the house thought Hinton had passed out or fallen asleep. They called 911, and paramedics tried to revive him at the house before taking him to WakeMed.

“There’s simply nowhere to go with this case,” Freeman said Tuesday.

Vicki Hinton told The N&O earlier this month that she appreciates her son getting attention from Black Lives Matter protesters and she continues to distrust and fear police and the legal system.

“I don’t have to lie about Kyron,” she said, “because God knows what happened.”

Freeman said she understands the family’s ordeal and their skepticism toward the system.

“We valued his life, and I would not have met them if that wasn’t true,” she said, referring to the deputy’s prosecution. “While I certainly understand their skepticism, there’s no indication here that the Raleigh Police Department or this office would do anything but follow the law.”

This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 1:51 PM.