Man Eats Coke & Drops Dead In Police Station

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]It's a cold January's afternoon in uptown Charlotte and officers with the Charlotte Mcklinberg Police Department are conducting a traffic stop in the Greenville neighborhood. Their target, 41-year-old Harold Easter, a man investigators believe is involved in drug distribution throughout the area.

[00:00:15]The officers tailing him are a part of a task force investigating the allegations. They'd been conducting routine surveillance when suddenly they spotted Harold behind the wheel of a Dodge Durango. Knowing his driver's license was suspended, they seized the opportunity to pull him over, hoping the lawful encounter would uncover something far bigger, potentially bringing their investigation to a head. As lights and sirens were activated, Harold refuses to stop. But surprisingly, he doesn't speed away or make any evasive maneuvers.

[00:00:45]Instead, he continues to drive at around 20 mph. So, he either A hasn't noticed the police presence behind him or B something is happening inside the vehicle.

[00:00:57]PUT YOUR HANDS UP.

[00:00:58]>> HANDS UP. HANDS UP. HANDS UP. DO IT NOW.

[00:01:01]>> My man just got out. We had some weed.

[00:01:03]THAT'S ALL.

[00:01:04]>> HANDS UP. HANDS UP.

[00:01:06]>> DON'T FORGET YOUR HANDS UP RIGHT NOW. KEEP THEM UP.

[00:01:10]KEEP YOUR HANDS up right now.

[00:01:13]>> Don't eat it.

[00:01:15]>> He's eating. Hands up.

[00:01:18]>> About a piece of goddamn Put your [ __ ] hands up. Put your hands up.

[00:01:23]>> Damn.

[00:01:24]>> Hey, cut it out. Okay, it went up.

[00:01:26]>> Driver, get passenger. Get passenger.

[00:01:28]>> Open the door.

[00:01:30]>> Hands up right now. Keep them up.

[00:01:32]>> Get your hands up >> right now.

[00:01:35]>> HEY, STOP.

[00:01:37]>> HAROLD.

[00:01:38]>> My hands.

[00:01:38]>> Stop. My hands are up.

[00:01:39]>> STOP. STOP.

[00:01:42]>> Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up. Get up.

[00:01:43]Get up. Get out.

[00:01:44]>> Yes, sir.

[00:01:45]>> Put your hands behind your back.

[00:01:51]>> Stop talking.

[00:01:54]Stop breathing. Get your hands out.

[00:01:56]>> Sit on the ground. Sit on the ground.

[00:01:58]Sit on the ground.

[00:01:59]>> Okay.

[00:01:59]>> Roll over on your stomach.

[00:02:01]>> Stay right there.

[00:02:05]>> Get out of the car.

[00:02:06]>> Watch his right hand. She go.

[00:02:10]>> Keep your hands right there.

[00:02:11]>> Hands up.

[00:02:12]>> Hands up, man.

[00:02:12]>> Grab that mirror right there with your right hand.

[00:02:14]>> I was just trying to let you know I didn't want grab the phone.

[00:02:18]>> Get out. NO. GET OUT. GET OUT.

[00:02:21]>> [ __ ] about the phone, man. Get on the ground.

[00:02:24]>> I am.

[00:02:27]>> That's all. I ain't want him to get in trouble, man.

[00:02:32]>> We ain't got no gun or nothing.

[00:02:44]I got him. All right.

[00:02:58]You got him?

[00:02:59]>> Yeah.

[00:03:02]>> They ain't got nothing, man. I just picked him up to smoke a blunt, man. He just got home, man.

[00:03:10]>> I was just wanting to smoke a Let him smell some weed. That's all.

[00:03:20]Yeah, he just picked him up, man.

[00:03:24]>> That ain't got nothing to do with nothing, man.

[00:03:32]>> Face the car for me real quick.

[00:03:35]>> Okay.

[00:03:40]>> I ain't got nothing, man.

[00:03:47]A bunch of pockets, man.

[00:03:49]>> Sir >> got a bunch of pockets.

[00:03:52]>> I like these jeans, though.

[00:04:07]at the back.

[00:04:14]>> Make sure there ain't nothing in here.

[00:04:15]>> Yeah. Yeah, there ain't nothing in there.

[00:04:33]That's all.

[00:04:34]>> I ain't had nothing but to smoke a little rock with. That's all. Smoke me a rock. That's all.

[00:04:42]>> Just enough to smoke a rock with.

[00:04:46]>> Open your mouth.

[00:04:47]>> Yeah. I was going to lace me up. Be still. Open your mouth.

[00:04:51]>> I was going to smoke.

[00:04:52]>> Open your mouth and stick your tongue out. What? Man, I don't >> Why would you not look at me and do that?

[00:05:00]>> Open your mouth, stick your tongue out.

[00:05:02]Open your mouth. Stick your tongue out.

[00:05:04]Lift your tongue out. Keep your mouth open. I don't got anything in my mouth.

[00:05:07]That's my tongue.

[00:05:09]>> As officers approach the Durango, they quickly notice Harold reaching towards the center console and grabbing a small baggie containing a rock-like substance consistent with crack cocaine. He's captured on body cam attempting to swallow it. Whether he successfully did at that moment in time, though, is up for debate. You see, the arresting officer would later report that he believed he had prevented Harold from consuming any narcotics. However, his body cam captures him yelling, "He's eating it." A statement that becomes important as the case develops. Another point of dispute is how much crack cocaine Harold actually consumed.

[00:05:43]Experts on the one hand estimate he ingested around 3.5 g. People connected to the case, however, believe the true amount was significantly higher.

[00:05:52]>> You got crack all over your tongue.

[00:05:53]>> No.

[00:05:55]>> Hold up. Hold up, hold up, hold up. Oh, my bad. My bad. That's on me.

[00:05:58]>> Listen, he he don't got nothing to do with nothing, man. I He just just got home. They just got in the Jeep and I was going to get me a haircut. That's all.

[00:06:08]>> Straight. Just lean up against the car right here, man. Hands up against the car. Hands up against the car.

[00:06:13]>> Hands up against the car.

[00:06:14]>> Oh. Oh. Oh, I ain't know.

[00:06:15]>> Here you go.

[00:06:17]>> Got crack all over his tongue.

[00:06:18]>> Yeah, he was trying to eat it >> cuz I ain't want him to get in trouble.

[00:06:21]I was going >> I was going to smoke me a rock flight.

[00:06:24]You know what I'm saying? I smoke flies.

[00:06:26]You feel me?

[00:06:26]>> Judy fly.

[00:06:27]>> Yeah, Judy fly.

[00:06:28]>> Been knowing that. Just lean up against me.

[00:06:30]>> Yeah. You Y'all know I've been getting high.

[00:06:34]>> I didn't mean that. I just meant been knowing about the Judy fly.

[00:06:37]>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I smoke Judy flies. That's all.

[00:06:43]>> He was crash. He was crushing up part of his crack. He didn't get all of it though. But that's what he was doing while I was fighting for his hands. But we got we probably got a eightball down here. He ate whatever he had.

[00:06:55]>> No, he didn't get all of it. When I was fighting him, he was crushing part of it. We probably got a eight ball right there.

[00:07:03]>> That's all.

[00:07:06]>> All right. Where'd you find that at?

[00:07:07]>> This is all came off the ground. He was throwing this out the window as we came up.

[00:07:13]>> This was on the ground, too, but he he chunked it out while I was dealing with him.

[00:07:22]And here's another baggie located in front of the pass the driver's >> door I mean seat >> on this on him.

[00:07:35]>> Yes, this was this was in the center on the center console right here and he was he was crushing it up when I was trying to get control of his hands.

[00:07:46]>> I'm not sure exactly what's in I think it's something in a paper towel.

[00:07:49]>> Where where was it at?

[00:07:50]>> The in front of the driver's seat.

[00:07:56]>> Lean up against the car, man.

[00:07:58]>> Can you put my hood on?

[00:08:00]>> Come back here.

[00:08:02]>> I'm just watching. Make sure don't nobody put nothing.

[00:08:04]>> Put your hat forward.

[00:08:05]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:11]>> Yeah. Cuz he ain't had a Yeah, we got somebody in there.

[00:08:17]You want them both in there?

[00:08:20]>> All right. I'm gonna be quiet, sir. I'm gonna be quiet.

[00:08:22]>> Come over here.

[00:08:23]>> I'll tell you what.

[00:08:33]Go ahead.

[00:08:36]>> Can you turn the heat on?

[00:08:39]That man, Mr. Joseph, you know, I wouldn't let you piss on yourself. We on the way, babe.

[00:08:47]We on the way.

[00:08:48]>> Okay.

[00:08:49]>> All right. Calm down for a second. I got to get on the radio. Hold on one sec.

[00:08:53]>> Mr. Joseph, I ain't trying to get on y'all nerves now. I'm just doing this so I don't piss on myself. You hear me?

[00:08:57]>> I feel you, brother. I wouldn't want to piss on myself either. So, we're going to get you.

[00:09:00]>> I know. Can you crack this side of the window?

[00:09:03]>> We're about to We're about to open the door here in a minute.

[00:09:05]>> I know. Please crack this side of the window so I can get some air. I'm not going to yell in that. I promise you.

[00:09:10]Well, I go on this side.

[00:09:11]>> All right.

[00:09:12]>> I can't breathe.

[00:09:13]>> You're You're talking. You're breathing.

[00:09:16]>> I got a piss.

[00:09:17]>> We're about to We're about to take care of that. We're about to remedy that situation for you.

[00:09:20]>> Oh boy.

[00:09:22]So So when I get my lawyer and I tell him that when I turned in my neighborhood coming from the barber shop, I was going to go take my homeboy home cuz he had just got out of prison and they bring him to see me. I was taking him back up there. Y'all was sitting at the stop sign and seen my Jeep and came after me cuz y'all said y'all knew that was me and I ain't had no license.

[00:09:58]>> Harold, >> how you know I was driving? Anybody could have been driving my Jeep.

[00:10:02]>> My daddy Jeep and had a license. How y'all knew that was me? Harold, right now, man, you're talking because you're you're feeling like you need to talk.

[00:10:12]>> No, I'm feeling like cuz I got to use the bathroom and I'm telling y'all the truth. I know what's going on.

[00:10:17]>> But what you what you need to remember is is the more you talk, the more in trouble you get. So, >> I ain't getting in no trouble. I don't >> just sit there quietly. If I >> I do not answer questions. I ain't talking to y'all about you.

[00:10:35]You won't let me pierce.

[00:10:37]>> Forget what I did. [ __ ] Because I know I ain't do nothing wrong. That's why I >> you talking about cuz I swallowed some swallowed something. You ain't going to let me get no water. You supposed to let me get water and use the bathroom.

[00:10:53]Once they arrived at the station, Harold was escorted to the restroom before being placed in an interview room. At that point, one would reasonably expect officers to request medical evaluation.

[00:11:03]After all, although the arresting officer claimed he prevented Harold from consuming anything during the struggle, he still believed he may have swallowed narcotics only minutes earlier in reference to when he refused to initially stop. But that never happened.

[00:11:17]No medical personnel were contacted. No ambulance was requested. No continuous welfare checks were conducted. In fact, Harold was never even offered transport to a hospital, something that directly violated departmental policy, which required that any individual suspected of ingesting dangerous contraband be evaluated by medical staff before being booked into jail.

[00:11:48]OH MY GO AND I KNOW THEY I GET HOT.

[00:12:26]>> WHY? Why do you not have any clothes on?

[00:12:28]>> I'm hot. Can I ask some questions?

[00:12:31]That's the only person to ask. Let me get some water cuz like I say, I ain't trying to respect y'all on the floor.

[00:12:38]Let me grab my acting like this cuz I'm a man like we man cuz we don't want to go to jail or whatever. You know what I'm saying? I got them. You know what I'm saying? You know, my kids there, my family there, my people. Let me get some water, man.

[00:13:16]That's all I'm saying. I ain't trying to do why he went to the bathroom. What are you trying to do? But I want some to get it back out because he got stuck my face.

[00:13:30]I GOT a million.

[00:13:49]CAN BE respect and so with me. God for all our so I say what I say cuz I know So hey It's me and I feel like please I After being left by himself in the interview room for approximately 45 minutes, Howard Easter experienced a seizure and collapsed. It would be a further 10 minutes before officers eventually rushed in and attempted life-saving measures which included administering Narcan. though that proved ineffective as of course no opioid was in his system. While officers did briefly restore a pulse before transporting him to the hospital, Harold died a few days later from the acute effects of cocaine ingestion.

[00:16:21]Essentially, he died that day in the police station as he never regained consciousness and remained on life support from the moment he arrived at the hospital. Given the circumstances surrounding his death, the case was turned over to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to determine whether criminal charges should be pursued. Investigators examined the possibility of involuntary manslaughter charges against the officers involved.

[00:16:44]Under North Carolina law, prosecutors needed to prove that the officers knew or should have known that Harold Easter had ingested a dangerous amount of crack cocaine. The officers also had a legal duty to obtain medical care for him. So if they failed in that duty through criminal negligence, then that would also play a role in obtaining this involuntary manslaughter charge. And finally, prosecutors had to prove that the officer's inaction directly caused his death. The case ultimately collapsed on that final point. Three independent medical experts, including the state medical examiner, agreed they could not say with medical certainty that Harold would have survived even if the officers had called for help immediately.

[00:17:24]Therefore, no criminal charges were brought forward. Accountability instead came through CMPD's internal investigation. After determining that multiple departmental policies had been violated in the handling of the case, Sergeant Nicholas Vincent and officers Brenley Vincent, Michael Benfield, Michael Joseph, and Sha Sheffield were all recommended for termination.

[00:17:45]However, each officer resigned before the terminations could officially appear on their records. In 2023, Howard Easter's family also received an $800,000 settlement after filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the city.

[00:17:59]Although the family stated that no amount of money could ever replace Harold, they said the settlement helped bring some sense of closure to the incident.