Episode 4: Homecoming

Episode 8: No One Will Know My Struggle

On the afternoon of Friday, May 8, 2020, Sacramento Fire Capt. Gary Loesch received a call from an assistant city manager urging him to attend an unplanned meeting at Old City Hall—one he hadn’t been formally invited to, but suspected was about a recent incident involving his department.  Two months earlier, five firefighters had responded to a medical call in south Sacramento for a man acting erratically due to a diabetic episode. Police were called for backup and handcuffed the man in the prone position as firefighters attempted to treat him. He lost consciousness, slipped into a coma, and died a week later after being removed from life support.  Loesch had launched an internal investigation, but he knew city officials were conducting their own. When he arrived at the meeting, he found city attorneys and staff reviewing police body cam footage showing Reggie Payne struggling while restrained on his parents’ living room floor. A city official quickly demanded the immediate termination of all five firefighters—a move that shocked Loesch, who questioned the lack of due process and the absence of any accountability for the police officers involved. While he agreed discipline was necessary, firing the firefighters felt extreme and unjustified. Something wasn't right. And it was only the beginning.   See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Episode 7: The Big Red Handle

Reggie Payne was rushed by ambulance to Sutter Medical Center, four miles north from the family’s home in Sacramento. This was February 25, 2020. He arrived at the hospital at 8:22 p.m., and was wheeled into the emergency room—clinging to life. At around 10 p.m., Reggie could no longer breathe on his own. He was intubated. Reggie’s family raced to the hospital and arrived to find him in an emergency room cubicle — comatose and on life support. They were stunned. Harriet’s hope faded as she prayed at Reggie’s side in the ER. It didn’t look good.  Meanwhile, the City of Sacramento and the police department were looking for someone to blame.  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Episode 6: Rodeo Star

On the evening of February 25, 2020, Harriett Jefferson became alarmed as her son, Reggie Payne, lapsed into a bad diabetic reaction. He hadn’t eaten all day and had sat through four hours of dialysis. Now, he was acting strange. Wobbling back and forth. Speaking incoherently. Harriett was growing increasingly concerned. She needed help. So, she did what a lot of people in her situation would: She dialed 911. Just four months earlier, Reggie had had a similar episode. Harriett had called 911 then and paramedics arrived at the home and helped him replenish his glucose levels. They were professional and courteous, and Reggie was fine after that. There was no reason to think this call would go any differently.  This time, however, things would go differently. In fact, things would go stunningly, irreversibly, tragically wrong. Reggie would end up on the floor of the home, face down, hands cuffed behind his back, pleading to breathe. This podcast episode contains discussions of police brutality and features audio of traumatic events. Listener discretion is advised. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Episode 5: Voices Travel

In 2019, Reggie and his sister Janine went to a high school reunion. It was going great...until it wasn't. Janine had to pull him off the dance floor when she started to see the paranoia and aggression signaling a bipolar episode.  That’s how it was with Reggie: a few hours of him being happy, calm, collected – followed by a steep slide into paranoia and distrust. That’s when Dark Reggie would emerge. And increasingly, Dark Reggie was running the show.   See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Episode 4: Homecoming

Reggie's time as a sports editor at the Grambling student newspaper suggested he had it all in front of him. He was a gifted rider with a ton of talent and street smarts. But after a violent encounter at the school, Reggie got on a bus, which was a two-day ride home, and something in his head snapped.  When he got to Oakland, his family met him at the bus station. And the person who walked off the bus left them stunned. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.