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“Durham has set a precedent over a large number of years that if the chambers are full, there is overflow in the lobby,” Simpson says. “That is what the public has come to expect as part of the accommodation for access in-person. Once you open it up to the public … and create this expectation that this is part of the accommodation for an open meeting, they need to continue doing that unless they have a really good justification.”

Simpson also disputed the RPD’s claim that there was no misconduct: “The officers did engage in unlawful conduct by entering the home simultaneously with their announcement. North Carolina law requires ‘Knock and Announce’ for warrant execution.”

...according to Elizabeth Simpson, an adjunct law professor and director of the civil legal assistance clinic at UNC. “A main driver for the Abboud family’s petition for general public release of the body-camera footage is to make other families aware of what’s going on in their neighborhoods, and to pressure the police into higher standards that would prevent situations like what occurred at the Abbouds’ residence that day,” the plaintiffs’ legal defense said in a statement.

Dawn Blagrove, executive director of Emancipate NC, said that they filed the lawsuit because Raleigh leaders refuse to hold officers accountable for this and other interactions.

“Because everyone who you elect and pay to create accountability is failing to do it,” Blagrove said.

Blagrove - also the executive director of Emancipate NC - said this case is not only about accountability, but it also aims to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else in the future.

It aims to make a change in the way tasers are handled.

"To ensure that this lawsuit is litigated in a way that is fair and just for this family," said Blagrove, "but more importantly, in a way that results in getting a change in policies, a change in practices, a change in procedures. "

“What we see from these programs is that when resources, police resources, are not being depleted by these mental health calls, they're able to be diverted and focused on violent crime,” Miller said. “And that's why we see a reduction in the crime rate.”

"We have no doubt this lawsuit is strong," Attorney Dawn Blagrove with Emancipate NC said. "We take no joy in this, There's no doubt the city of Raleigh has turned a blind eye to negligence over and over again."

Dawn Blagrove, executive director of Emancipate NC, a nonprofit social activist organization, sent a letter in April to the DOJ about patterns and practices in policing.

"We are excited and pleased that the Department of Justice took our concerns seriously and selected Raleigh Police Department to be one of the participants in one of these crime-prevention programs."

Dawn Blagrove, executive director for Emancipate NC, says she’s skeptical about the impact.

"Raleigh Police Department does not have a problem with training; it has a problem with culture,” Blagrove said.

Social activist Kerwin Pittman believes these copays are a step in the wrong direction. He was incarcerated for 11.5 years and said he had his own experiences with copays while serving his time.

“On its face, $5 to $20 may not seem like a lot to us. But when you are incarcerated, and you’re only making 40 cents a day, this is a lot of money for copaying and medical attention,” he said.

"I'm not surprised Raleigh is keeping this close to the chest, because they definitely have a problem with transparency," said Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove "The Raleigh Police Department is either incapable or unwilling to learn from its own mistakes."

Emancipate NC, which advocates against mass incarceration and racism in the criminal justice system, submitted a public records request in April for “all written Durham jail policies.” The sheriff’s office took six months to fulfill the request, and put blocks of black ink over many sections, including most of the rules about restraining devices.

Racial justice organizations Emancipate NC and the North Carolina Black Alliance held a press conference after Earls dropped the lawsuit, praising the power of collective, organized action in defending against the “racism behind the attack on Justice Earls.”

Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove confirmed to ABC11 that they are working with Williams' family to file a lawsuit against Raleigh Police in the next two months.

Accountability organizer Kerwin pittman with Emancipate NC was disappointed with Wake County DA's decision to not file charges against the officers involved.

Dawn Blagrove, executive director of Emancipate NC, speaks at a news conference in Raleigh, N.C., last August, defending Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls.

“We still need accountability,” activist Kerwin Pittman said. “Demanding justice non-stop until we get it.”

“There is no way for you to watch the video without essentially going into the belly of the beast,” said Dawn Blagrove, who crisscrosses the state to accompany relatives to police stations to view footage.

Kerwin Pittman of the group Emancipate NC said that can prevent some violent or deadly interactions with police and save resources.

"We definitely know that this program, if implemented correctly, will save lives," Pittman said.

Since 2018, North Carolina courts have terminated the rights of nearly 1,200 parents per year, including an average of 32 per year in Durham, according to state records. Only 30 percent of the 5,020 North Carolina children who left foster care in the 2022-23 fiscal year were reunited with their parents. In Durham, the reunification rate was just 22 percent, less than half of the national average.

Jaelyn Miller is a staff attorney with Emancipate NC, which is one of the organizations that make up Raleigh’s HEART Coalition. The coalition pushed for community response teams, similar to Durham’s H.E.A.R.T program.

“We want those community response teams for sure,” Miller said. “That’s typically mental health clinicians, paramedics, EMTs. That is the crux, I think, of the program we’re seeking.”

"It puts us in line with other cities across the South and across the nation that are taking these steps toward recognizing what these monuments stand for and coming up with a way to see the future differently.”

Miles and Vance Monument Taskforce co-chair Oralene Simmons are organizing a media briefing in Raleigh following the Nov. 1 arguments and will be joined by Noel Nickle, a local Vance family descendant; Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer; and Jaelyn Miller, community lawyering fellow at Emancipate NC.

Holmes said the case “sends a message to law enforcement and policy makers about the continued need to treat people with respect and protect their Constitutional rights during traffic stops.”

Holmes, who directs the civil litigation clinic at the North Carolina Central University School of Law, was assisted in the long-running case by at least 20 of his law students, he said. Bottom was also represented by Ian Mance, an attorney for Emancipate NC, a Durham-based civil right organization.

Dawn Blagrove, who leads the civil rights group Emancipate NC, said the investigation is not only an attempt to remove Earls from office, but is part of a broad, Republican-backed effort to silence Black people and politicians with recent bills and laws making it easier for police to charge protesters with felony crimes, or to enact stricter voting rules.

“We are currently under a regime that is dead set on taking us back to Jim Crow,” she said.

"What is happening to Justice Earls is a microcosm of what is happening to every Black, brown and marginalized person in North Carolina at the hands of elected officials who are determined to drag this state back to the days of Jim Crow," commentator Dawn Blagrove said.

"If these were white children riding their bikes, trying to get home, the situation would have been handled very differently," [Emancipate NC's] Attorney Dawn Blagrove contended. "I really believe that, because these are Black boys, this district attorney is using this situation to try to appear 'tough on crime' in a way that is having an absolutely absurd result."

“I came here to talk about proactive policing,” said Dawn Blagrove, executive director of Emancipate NC. “And I have the perfect solution: Instead of having 15 Raleigh police officers show up to harass people in southeast Raleigh, why don’t you send them to pick up some of these blind folks that are waiting for four hours at a time?”

“It’s just cooking people alive,” said Cierra Cobb, the prison/jail coordinator, family advocate and a podcast host for the advocacy group Emancipate NC. “Some days were unbearable. Everybody was in there sweating...It was causing tension in the block because everybody’s hot.”

"Apparently, we have to add 'riding a bike while Black' to the list of activities that can subject Black children to state sanctioned violence," Emancipate NC executive director and attorney Dawn Blagrove.

"Clearly, in Gaston County, as well as Gastonia, there are two types of legal systems… One for black and brown people, and another for those who are not black and brown," Kerwin Pittman said. "(The boys) were unjustly targeted, arrested, brutalized, humiliated... All they wanted to do was go home."

Emancipate N.C. executive director Dawn Blagrove said she knows leaders on both sides are having discussions about possible changes but she doesn’t feel like change will happen anytime soon.

“There’s simply not political will to create the changes to make a fair and equitable criminal justice system here in North Carolina,” Blagrove said.

“It is sad that we have to file a lawsuit, a public records lawsuit, just to get a video released," Ben Crump told the crowd. "You know, transparency leads to truth."

Emancipate's Dawn Blagrove joined other speakers calling for justice for Shanquella Robinson.

“We have a process in place to extradite people who have come to America from Mexico ... and from all over the world to seek a better life,” said Dawn Blagrove, executive director of Emancipate NC. “Why can we not employ those same resources and those same processes [with] people who are a danger to folks in ... Charlotte ...?"

"Essentially [this bill] intimidates individuals from coming out to participate and exercise their constitutional rights," said Kerwen Pittman with Emancipate NC.

Dawn Blagrove, the executive director of Emancipate NC, said HB 40 was a “racist” bill “designed to harm and limit the voices of Black, brown and marginalized people.”

“The impact will be to stifle the voices of the most marginalized communities. Make no mistake about it,” said Kerwin Pittman, a criminal justice advocate and organizer with Emancipate NC, adding that peaceful protesters wrongly arrested could lose their jobs if they are forced to be held for 24 hours.

For people struggling to find their way out of the gang lifestyle, [Kerwin] Pittman had one key statement of advice:

"Find somebody who is doing somebody positive and stick with them like your life depends on," he said. "I'm a Black man coming back to redeem the community I once helped to destroy."

Dawn Blagrove argues against token justice in prosecuting Raleigh's police department, saying, "The only person who’s being held accountable at all for any wrongdoing is Abdullah. Even Abdullah [isn't] really being held accountable. It’s just that [Wake County DA Freeman] knew that she had to bring some ... charge."

"Emancipate NC, an advocacy group, has issued yet another call for reforms."

“I was literally placed on this planet to do this,” Jatoia Potts says. “I’ll continue to share my story. My kids will grow up and see later that their mom was still out there, still doing stuff, still fighting for them.”

“DSS has done so many things that have caused so much harm and so much trauma and so much damage,” Toia Potts said.

"Emancipate NC’s Dawn Blagrove spoke loud and clear on Feb. 8 against North Carolina Republicans’ latest 'anti-rioting' bill. She told a legislative committee that the intent of House Bill 40 was to target 'Black, brown, and marginalized people' engaging in nonviolent protests."

“What we want to see is real accountability. Accountability that is acceptable to the people. Accountability that has real teeth and can bring real consequences,” Dawn Blagrove, the executive director of Emancipate NC, said.

“The fact that they claim to have seen an open container and marijuana in the car sounds good and is a practice that we see repeatedly,” Dawn Blagrove said, CNN reported, adding that it’s a move not just from RPD “but from police departments across the country, where they retroactively create scenarios that protect them from the accountability and appearance of impropriety.”

“It’s heartbreaking to think about any person being electrocuted to death for nothing. In a parking lot, alone, begging, screaming and pleading for mercy that the Raleigh Police Department could not and would not offer him. They need to be held accountable for that,” Dawn Blagrove told CNN.

"Emancipate NC and other advocacy groups this week presented a list of demands to the Raleigh City Council. They include firing the officers involved in the arrest, retooling the city’s police advisory board and discontinuing for now the use of Tasers."

“Darryl Williams should not be dead,” Kerwin Pittman said, noting the officers’ use of force “struck me as extremely excessive.”

"There needs to be accountability. These officers, there was no reason that Darryl should be dead right now. And we want to see the city of Raleigh finally take seriously the need to bring real accountability to the Raleigh Police Department," said Dawn Blagrove.

Emancipate NC and Raleigh Demands Justice are calling for the creation of a new committee to look into police accountability. Click below to view the list of demands we delivered to Raleigh city council.

"North Carolina courts are behind other neighboring states in terms of enforcing a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court decision that prevents prosecutors from excluding jurors on the basis of race, Ian Mance, an attorney for civil rights organization Emancipate NC, wrote."

"What we know is that proactive policing, a.k.a. stop and frisk, is a very lazy way to do it, and it is proven to be ineffective and impacting the rate of crime," said Dawn Blagrove of Emancipate NC, denouncing RPD's tactics.

Click to read the full list of demands Emancipate NC and Raleigh Demands Justice made to Raleigh City Council.

"Raleigh Demands Justice, which includes Emancipate NC, ... gave city leaders a packet of information that included eight demands ranging from firing the police officers involved in Williams’ death to dismantling and rebuilding the current police advisory board."

The post highlights Team Emancipate's work, describing our dedication to "providing community education and mobilizing against racialized mass incarceration," and more.

"We should not be harming or hurting, or passing any legislation, that further marginalizes already marginalized people,” said Dawn Blagrove.

“This bill is racist,” said Dawn Blagrove, executive director of the group Emancipate NC. “This bill is designed to harm and limit the voices of Black, brown and marginalized people.”

Dawn Blagrove denounced Raleigh's "proactive patrols," saying, "It doesn’t matter what they found in his car. What matters is that on that night, he was bothering no one. He was minding his own business.”

“Why are you not righting this wrong?” asked Kerwin Pittman, Emancipate NC’s Policy & Program director, during the press conference. “Why are you continuing to victimize this family that was already victimized the first time by Raleigh Police Department?”

“[This] speaks to a larger issue, a systemic issue with the Raleigh Police Department and the culture of the city of Raleigh, it’s seeming that it’s to continue the brutalization of marginalized communities,” Kerwin Pittman said.

"We call on the people of Raleigh to demand that the folks that you have given your power to use it in a way that is fair and is equitable and is just," said Dawn Blagrove. "It's systemic racism that allows police all over the country and specifically here in Raleigh to create special units and give them so much leeway that they think and behave as they are above the law."

Emancipate helped organize the protest and supported protestors calling for justice for Darryl Williams and Tyre Nichols.

Kerwin Pittman of Emancipate NC speaks to protesters gathered to march in downtown Raleigh, N.C. in the wake of the deaths of Daryl Williams in Raleigh and Tyre Nichols in Memphis.

A group protesting Edenton’s Confederate monument and pushing for its removal from the town’s waterfront area is taking its case to new heights... Read the full article.

“Our plan is that it stays up until the monument comes down,” local Move the Monument Coalition activist Rod Phillips said.

"We stand here before you with demands that are not utopian. They are real, they are tangible, and they can be achieved," said Dawn Blagrove. "Black folks in southeast Raleigh can be safe, and they deserve that."

“This report is designed to malign the victim, to malign the murder victim ... What matters is that on that night, he was bothering no one,” said Dawn Blagrove, denouncing RPD's "proactive policing" as nothing more than racial profiling.

"Darryl Williams should not be dead," Kerwin Pittman said. "Their initial encounter with Mr. Williams was unwarranted and unjustifiable."

“Why, when Mr. Williams expressed he had heart conditions, why did they still choose to tase this man again?” asked Kerwin Pittman.

Kerwin Pittman described how "proactive policing" leads to racial profiling: "Law enforcement wasn’t called to the scene. [Officers] just so happened to arrive on the scene, determined certain people were suspicious and wanted to pursue those people. That’s when things escalated."

“In defending this case, the City of Raleigh has elected to use taxpayer money to pay four private law firms, along with two City Attorneys, to employ a defense strategy that has included accusing these innocent mothers and children of criminal wrongdoing and subjected them to a battery of invasive and inappropriate questions,” Emancipate NC wrote.

"[The City of Raleigh] accused the mothers and their children of 'criminal wrongdoings' and asked them about gang activity," said Emancipate NC.

“When a policy lacks specifics about how you are supposed to operate, it leaves room for a lot of error. It leaves it up to the officers’ interpretation … and we know when they lean on their own interpretation, as we’ve seen in the past, they make mistakes,” Kerwin Pittman says.