CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The family of a man who died in police custody has settled their wrongful death lawsuit with the City of Charlotte for $800,000.
A settlement agreement obtained by WCNC Charlotte shows the city recently agreed to make the settlement payment to Harold Easter’s family in return for the dismissal of their lawsuit.
As part of the agreement, the city made it clear it was not admitting any wrongdoing.
Easter died in January 2020 after suffering a seizure.
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department internal investigation found four officers and a sergeant knew the 41-year-old had swallowed cocaine, but failed to get him proper medical care after his arrest for a suspected drug deal.
Police video showed Easter crying out for help in an interview room before he collapsed.
The video also showed no one entered the room until nearly 10 minutes later.
The four officers and sergeant resigned just days before the public release of the videos.
Contact Nate Morabito at nmorabito@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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