RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Nationally renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump and the family of a Raleigh man who died in police custody in January addressed the man’s autopsy report.

Crump, who is representing the family of Darryl Tyree Williams, stood alongside Emancipate NC’s executive director Dawn Blagrove, and spoke Friday at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Gardens – a symbolic location, just up the road from where Williams became unconscious outside a sweepstakes.

Crump’s visit came two days after the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released the report for the 32-year-old Williams, who died in police custody on Jan. 17.

The report said his cause of death was sudden cardiac arrest in the setting of cocaine intoxication, physical exertion, conducted energy weapon use and physical restraint.

The manner of death was listed in the report as homicide.

Crump said it was important that the autopsy confirmed that Williams died from homicide, not natural causes.

Crump also addressed the body cam video the Raleigh Police Department previously released of Williams’ death, where he can be heard telling officers about his heart problems as they attempt to restrain him.

“The fact that what we saw in that video was clear. Our eyes and ears did not deceive us. When Darryl Tyree Williams told the officers ‘I have heart problems,’ and they continued to tase him,” Crump said.

Sonya Williams, Darryl Tyree Williams’ mother, tells CBS 17 her son was her joy in life.

“He was my heart. He was my soul. He was my everything and I miss him every day. Not a day goes by day I don’t think about him. He {used to} come by and see me every day,” said Sonya Williams.

Crump and Williams’ family called for Police Chief Estella Patterson to fire the six officers involved and for district attorney Lorrin Freeman to charge them.

They also called for city leaders to end their proactive patrolling practices, which the Raleigh Police Department’s preliminary investigative report said the six officers were doing that night. It said officers were “proactively patrolling” businesses along Rock Quarry Road. 

“One thing we have to have is police have respect for every citizen. The things you see, the inhumanity, the lack of professionalism, the lack of consideration- we don’t see them doing that to our white brothers and sisters,” said Crump.

Moving forward, Blagrove wants to see system change in law enforcement.

“Right now, police officers disciplinary records are protected by statute. We need that to go away. We need for our General Assembly to allow and give every police accountability board across the state subpoena power so that they can truly investigate, independently, bad actors in the law enforcement community,” Blagrove said.

Sonya Williams hopes the release of her son’s autopsy will lead them to transparency and accountability.

“I’m just glad of today we have the autopsy and that we can proceed on to get justice,” she said.

Raleigh City Council unanimously voted in February to create a committee that will look into concerns from the community following Williams’ death.

The move came after Crump visited Raleigh in February to meet with the family and call for manslaughter charges against the officers involved.

Crump, Emancipate NC and attorney Abbarno released the following statement earlier this week in response to the autopsy information:

“The findings from this autopsy serve as a chilling confirmation of what we have known to be true since we first viewed the video footage: Darryl’s death was a direct result of excessive and unreasonable police force. Despite officers knowing of his heart condition, they deployed a taser against him numerous times, showing a shocking disregard for his life. We will leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of truth, justice, and accountability, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that those responsible for this senseless loss of life are held accountable and that meaningful changes are implemented to prevent a tragedy like this from occurring in the future.”

The press conference ended with the group saying in unison, “Now that we have the autopsy, we want justice for Darryl Tyree.”