A 32-year-old man died Monday morning, several hours after his arrest by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. The State Bureau of Investigation is now reviewing his death.
Jovontay Avery Williams of Charlotte died at Charlotte's Northeast Medical Center around 10 a.m., about eight hours after officers had detained him.
During a press conference Monday afternoon, CMPD was unable to provide the cause of Williams' death.
CMPD Lieutenant Bryan Crum said police responded around 2 a.m. to multiple 911 calls reporting gunshots and a home break-in attempt on Featherstone Drive in north Charlotte. Crum said Williams appeared to be in medical distress when officers arrived.
"Officers immediately when they saw Mr. Williams realized that he was behaving erratically," he said. "He was excited in nature. He wasn't really actively communicating with officers and didn't appear to be in full control of his faculties.”
Crum said officers tried to calm Williams and called for Medic, but his erratic behavior continued.
“As they attempted de-escalation techniques, Mr. Williams attempted to force entry to another home on that same street, at which time officers had to intervene and they took him into custody using what we would call soft, empty-hand techniques. They basically grabbed him, put his hands in handcuffs," he said. "They recognized that medical distress at that time wasn't just mental, but there was some other medical events going on with him.”
Crum didn’t specify what those other medical events were. He says police recovered a handgun, shell casings and possibly drugs from the area of the arrest but police did not clarify if any of these items were related to Williams. Crum added there was evidence shots had been fired into a home.
CMPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is expected to conduct its own investigation into the death. Crum said the department plans to release the initial emergency call leading up to Williams' arrest.
See the full police press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI26cCCwGSA