Police release footage in arrest of North Carolina man who died after being tased 3 times

Police in North Carolina have released body-worn camera and surveillance footage showing the arrest and tasing of Darryl Tyree Williams, as the investigation into his in-custody death continues.

Williams, 32, died on Jan. 17 about an hour after getting tased multiple times by Raleigh police. Six officers are on administrative leave amid a probe by the Raleigh Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is also conducting an independent criminal investigation.

As attendees say “we love you boo-boo” balloons are released during a vigil for Darryl Williams outside Supreme Sweepstakes in Raleigh, N.C., Jan. 19, 2023. Williams, 32, died after he was tased by Raleigh police officers.

Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images

The footage — including video from the six officers’ body-worn cameras and dash cameras, as well as from two surveillance cameras — comes two days after a Wake County Superior Court judge authorized its release. Williams’ family viewed the footage prior to its release, police said.

A preliminary report of the incident was also released on Jan. 23 that detailed some of the as-yet-unreleased body-camera footage, in which Williams can be heard telling officers he has heart problems as they tase him.

Officers approached Williams shortly before 2 a.m. on Jan. 14 as he was sitting in the driver’s seat of a car parked in a Raleigh parking lot. Officers were conducting proactive patrols of the businesses in the area, which has a “history of repeat calls for service for drugs, weapons, and other criminal violations,” the report said.

Officers said they saw an open container of alcohol and marijuana in the car and asked Williams and an unidentified passenger to step out and put their hands on the car. In the footage, the officer did not mention the drugs when asking Williams and the passenger to step out of the vehicle.

“For what?” one of them is heard saying.

An officer searching Williams found a folded dollar bill in his pocket that appeared to contain “a white powdery substance consistent with the appearance of cocaine,” and proceeded to arrest him, police said. Though the officer did not tell Williams the reason for his arrest.

A spokesman for the police department declined to comment when asked by ABC News whether the officer violated departmental policy in his interactions with Williams, citing an ongoing investigation into the incident.

Officers can be heard ordering Williams to put his hands behind his back and get on the ground as they attempt to detain him. An officer can be heard telling him to “stop or you’ll get tased,” before one of the officers tased him.

The footage appears to reveal Williams fleeing across the parking lot before falling. Officers can be heard ordering Williams to stay on the ground and put his hands behind his back or “you’re going to get tased.” As multiple officers were on top of him, an officer deployed a Taser on Williams’ left side, police said.

Williams can be heard in the footage saying, “I’ve got heart problems,” before another officer can be seen pressing the Taser against his back and deploying it.

This screengrab shows the arrest in Raleigh, N.C. of Darryl Tyree Williams, who died after being stunned repeatedly with stun guns on Jan. 17, 2023.

City of Raleigh via AP

Williams was placed in handcuffs and put on his side at approximately 2 a.m., police said. Two minutes later, officers called for EMS to respond and evaluate him “as required by policy,” police said.

Over the next several minutes, officers can be heard asking if Williams is breathing and checking his pulse. Officers began CPR when they could no longer detect a pulse. At 2:06 a.m. an officer asked EMS to expedite their response, police said.

Williams was pronounced dead at approximately 3:01 a.m. at a local hospital, police said.

An autopsy report and toxicology report are pending, according to investigators.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s independent criminal investigation remains ongoing, a spokesperson for the agency said Friday. The findings will ultimately be presented to the Wake County District Attorney for review.

“I love you. We got your back” says Mary Cabell, Darryl Williams’ aunt before a vigil for Williams outside Supreme Sweepstakes in Raleigh, N.C., Jan. 19, 2023.

Ethan Hyman/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS via Getty Images

In the wake of his death, Williams’ family and community activists have called for accountability and criticized the police’s proactive patrols in the area.

“My emotions (are) just everywhere,” his mother, Sonya Williams, told ABC Durham, North Carolina, affiliate WTVD last month. “I just can’t comprehend that this happened to my son.”

ABC News’ Will McDuffie contributed to this report.