On Monday evening, PBS NewsHour aired a national special on the danger of Taser weapons in the hands of police. Highlighting the story of Darryl Tyree Williams, and featuring the voices of his mother, Sonya Williams, and Dawn Blagrove, the story raises concerns that Taser weapons are dangerous and over-used against Black people. Raleigh Police officers killed Darryl with a Taser weapon while engaging in “proactive policing” in a Black neighborhood, even though he warned them that he suffered from cardiac problems.
Dawn stated: “Darryl Williams lost his life because the Raleigh Police Department apparently doesn’t have anything better to do than to harass Black and brown people.”
Sonya stated: “He didn’t deserve this. A day don’t go by I don’t think about him. It’s just hard. It’s a hard thing to go through.”
Wake District Attorney Lorrin Freeman has declined to bring charges against the officers who committed the homicide.