City pays family $800K in settlement over man’s death while in CMPD custody

CHARLOTTE — The City of Charlotte paid $800,000 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.

The suit was filed by the family of Harold Easter, who died in police custody back in January 2020. His family said officers failed to get him medical help after he was arrested during a drug investigation.

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Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department suspected Easter swallowed cocaine during a traffic stop. They took him to a CMPD holding room and left him there.

Easter collapsed on the floor 45 minutes later, but it was another 10 minutes before officers found him and called for an ambulance.

He later died at the hospital.

Four officers and a sergeant resigned afterward. CMPD also made changes to their internal policy, now requiring officers to keep continuous watch of people in their custody.

Channel 9 learned the city reached the settlement with the family back in April.

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