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. 

On the evening of February 25, 2020, Harriett Jefferson became alarmed as her son, Reggie Payne, lapsed into a bad diabetic reaction. He hadn&rsquo;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.&nbsp;
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.

In February of 2020, a 48-year-old Black man named Reggie Payne slipped into a coma and later died after police restrained him face down on his parent’s living room floor as he cried out for help. No one filmed it on their smartphone. No footage flashed across newscasts.

Reggie’s death came and went quietly, unlike the murder of George Floyd just a couple months later. But journalists Rick Jervis and Jeff Pearlman refused to let it go. Nearly three decades earlier, Reggie, Jeff and Rick worked together as summer interns at a Nashville newspaper. While Rick and Jeff went on to enjoy successful careers in media, Reggie – who went by the hip-hop moniker “Sexy Sweat” – vanished into a cloud of mental health struggles and personal trauma.

Following his death, Rick and Jeff started digging. They wanted to find out not just the details of how their friend lapsed into a coma at the hands of police but also how Reggie – smart, engaging, dynamic, ambitious – wound up as yet another American tragedy. This is the story of Sexy Sweat.

In February of 2020, a 48-year-old Black man named Reggie Payne slipped into a coma and later died after police restrained him face down on his parent&rsquo;s living room floor as he cried out for help.&nbsp;No one filmed it on their smartphone. No footage flashed across newscasts.
Reggie&rsquo;s death came and went quietly, unlike the murder of George Floyd just a couple months later. But journalists Rick Jervis and Jeff Pearlman refused to let it go. Nearly three decades earlier, Reggie, Jeff and Rick worked together as summer interns at a Nashville newspaper. While Rick and Jeff went on to enjoy successful careers in media, Reggie &ndash; who went by the hip-hop moniker &ldquo;Sexy Sweat&rdquo; &ndash; vanished into a cloud of mental health struggles and personal trauma.
Following his death, Rick and Jeff started digging. They wanted to find out not just the details of how their friend lapsed into a coma at the hands of police but also how Reggie &ndash; smart, engaging, dynamic, ambitious &ndash; wound up as yet another American tragedy. This is the story of Sexy Sweat.

Finding Sexy Sweat

Episode 6: Rodeo Star

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f020fb61-2f4b-47a0-bcb2-b31e01665333/transcript