What we know about the arrest of Darryl Williams, who died after tasing by Raleigh police
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Death of Darryl “Tyree” Williams
Ongoing coverage from The News & Observer on the tasing and death of 32-year-old Darryl Williams in Raleigh police custody on Jan. 17, 2023.
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UPDATES: Body cam video has been released. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump calls for charges against officers.
The city of Raleigh released video footage Feb. 10 from the January arrest of Darryl “Tyree” Williams, a 32-year-old Black man who died in police custody.
Williams was tased three times by officers who struggled to arrest him for alleged drug possession on Jan. 17.
He is the third person since 2022 who has died after an encounter with Raleigh police, after two fatal shootings of men by officers last year. Here’s what we know based on The News & Observer’s reporting and information released by the city and police department.
What happened to Darryl Williams in Raleigh?
Two officers approached Williams around 1:55 a.m. while conducting “proactive patrols” of businesses on Rock Quarry Road.
Those patrols include providing security checks in areas with a pattern of burglaries, Lt. Jason Borneo has told The N&O.
“The proactivity of our officers is a proven way to supplement 911 community calls for service to deter crime and increase the safety of our community,” he said.
Officers were outside Supreme Sweepstakes where Williams was in a parked car. Shortly after approaching him, they tried to arrest him after finding a folded dollar bill in his pocket with a white powder on it that looked like cocaine, according to a report police released after the incident.
Williams pulled away from officers’ grasps before Officer C.D. Robinson first tased him, according to the report and video footage.
READ MORE: Read the full police report here
After being tased the first time, Williams managed to get back up and ran. He tripped and fell over, then struggled with officers.
In 50 seconds, Williams was tased twice more: Officer J.T. Thomas tased him in the side of his body, and Robinson then tased him again, this time in the back.
The drive-stun mode of the taser was used twice. The mode sets the taser to give a more powerful shock when pressed against the body.
Williams told the officers “I have heart problems” before he was tased the third time, according to the report released days after the incident by Police Chief Estella Patterson.
Officers arrested Williams around 2 a.m., but he quickly stopped breathing. Officers performed CPR until an ambulance arrived, the report stated.
He was pronounced dead at 3:01 a.m. at a local hospital.
What do we know about the police officers involved?
Six officers were involved in the incident. In addition to Thomas and Robinson, four other officers arrived at the scene to assist in detaining Williams.
Thomas, 22, is a rookie with roughly five months on the force as of February, personnel records requested by The N&O show. He was promoted from being a pre-hire recruit last September, according to his personnel file.
Robinson, 25, has been a police officer since 2019.
In addition to the tasings that made contact with Williams, Thomas and Robinson also deployed their tasers one time each that failed to make contact with him.
All six officers are currently on paid administrative leave as the death is investigated by police and the State Bureau of Investigation, which is standard procedure.
Raleigh Police Department’s tasing policy
Raleigh police have had tasers for several years, according to Borneo.
Patterson maintains they have been an effective, “less lethal” option when officers use force to control someone. Tasers emit 50,000 volts of electricity to temporarily paralyze a person.
All officers must complete an 8-hour Taser certification course and must re-certify every year to continue to carry and operate one, Borneo said.
He didn’t specify how many officers have them, but said the majority of the department’s tasers are used by officers in the field operations division, which primarily responds to 911 calls.
All officers who deploy a taser must submit a use of force report.
Police deployed them on 24 people in 2021, according to the Raleigh Police Department’s 2021 Professional Standards Report.
Police tased 46 people in 2019 and 21 people in 2020.
READ MORE: What the Raleigh Police Department says about when to use tasers
What activists say about Darryl Williams’ death
Civil rights organization Emancipate NC claims Williams was racially profiled when officers approached him at his car.
“We got to call a spade a spade,” Kerwin Pittman of Emancipate NC said previously. “Proactive patrolling is racial profiling of marginalized communities. It is finding an excuse when there is no excuse [other than] to stop minorities. ... Nothing more.”
Emancipate NC, which previously called for criminal charges against Raleigh officers in two fatal shootings by police last year, organized a Jan. 24 news conference with Darryl Williams’ mother, Sonya Williams.
READ MORE: Man who died after tasing was victim of ‘Jim Crow policing,’ family, supporters say
“This (police) report is designed to malign the victim, to malign the murder victim,” said Emancipate NC leader Dawn Blagrove. “It doesn’t natter what they found in his car. What matters is that on that night, he was bothering no one. He was minding his own business.”
Police stated in their report that they found two firearms and “suspected controlled substances” during a search of Williams’ car.
How is the City of Raleigh responding?
The Raleigh City Council agreed Feb. 7 to review community advocates’ demands for greater police reform and accountability.
Raleigh Demands Justice, a coalition that includes Emancipate NC, Save Our Sons and Young Americans Protest, gave city leaders a packet of information with eight demands.
The demands included firing the police officers involved in Williams’ death and dismantling and rebuilding the city’s police advisory board.
Council member Mary Black made a motion for the demands to be sent to the city’s Human Relations Commission for future recommendations to the City Council. The motion passed 7-0 with Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin absent and excused.
“There are a lot of valid, valid emotions tonight,” said Black, who was elected last year. “I just want to acknowledge the harm and concerns brought up tonight around RPD and accountability.”
Nearly half of the 40 people who signed up to speak addressed police reform and police accountability. Some held signs and photos of the people killed by Raleigh police officers or who died in police custody.
What happens next?
A judge approved the release of the officers’ body camera footage, which the city posted along with dash camera and surveillance footage Feb. 10.
Williams’ family was to be the first to see the videos, reported ABC11, The N&O’s news partner.
The case will continue to be investigated by the state.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman will determine whether the officers acted lawfully and could press charges if she finds any of them broke the law.
At 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump and Williams’ family are scheduled to hold a press conference at Mount Peace Baptist, 1601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Raleigh, to call for the officers who tased Williams to be fired and charged with manslaughter.
Afterward, the family, Crump, and community activists will lay a wreath where Williams was killed.
Staff writer Anna Johnson contributed to this story.
This story was originally published February 10, 2023 at 5:45 AM.
