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Editor’s note: This story contains reporting about suicide, a topic that will be disturbing to some readers.
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Mayor Janet Cowell has condemned accusations made against city leadership and staff after the weekend death of a Black man in downtown Raleigh.
The man’s body was found Saturday afternoon, hanging from a tree off South McDowell Street near Nash Square.
Cowell said during Tuesday’s Raleigh City Council meeting that the accusatory rhetoric was probably the “ugliest episode I have experienced in my service in public office for 17 years.”
“Some of the horrific accusations that were made towards our staff, this council — it was just really, really ugly,” she said.
Police said Saturday night that the death was being investigated as a suicide. On Monday, Police Chief Rico Boyce said video evidence from nearby businesses showed he acted alone and that the man’s mother said her 32-year-old son struggled with mental health issues.
Comments on social media, however, accused the city of covering up the actual cause of death, with some speculating he could have been lynched.
City Manager Marchell Adams-David said during Tuesday’s council meeting that “it is still an active investigation until the medical examiner’s report comes back finalized.”
“It’s just scary … beyond the pain that this young man had, what has surfaced in our society and the behaviors,” Cowell said. “So I will just say I’m processing it through myself, but it was just a very difficult weekend for many reasons.”
But some speakers at the meeting said there was a reason for the speculation.
“The implications of this and the obvious connection with the worst chapters of our history are clear,” resident Jeremy Gilchrist said.
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“It was said that the speculation was harmful, but [it] is just another manifestation of deep trauma and a complete lack of trust in all institutions in the shadow of overt fascism in this country,” he said.
Resident Zainab Baloch said whatever the police findings have been, “the response has exposed something else.”
“There’s a deep lack of trust between parts of this community and our police department,” she said.
Council member Mitchell Silver also condemned divisive politics and language used to hurt people in regard to the death.
He added that people should be empathetic.
“One thing we could all do — yes, there are resources — but reach out, check on people, neighbors, family and friends,” Silver said.
Council member Corey Branch said the incident and the history it raised have been especially difficult for the Black community.
“The last weekend has been a very challenging weekend for our city, for our community, and I’ll just … be very transparent, especially for people of color with everything that has happened — historically and the incident that we recently had.”
If you are having thoughts of suicide or other mental health struggles, call or text 988 for a 24/7 hotline. Call 988-PEERS-NC for the North Carolina peers warmline to talk to someone with experience with substance abuse and mental health concerns.
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This story was originally published August 19, 2026 at 12:33 PM.