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. 

Reggie Payne was rushed by ambulance to Sutter Medical Center, four miles north from the family&rsquo;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&mdash;clinging to life.
At around 10 p.m., Reggie could no longer breathe on his own. He was intubated.
Reggie&rsquo;s family raced to the hospital and arrived to find him in an emergency room cubicle &mdash; comatose and on life support. They were stunned.&nbsp;Harriet&rsquo;s hope faded as she prayed at Reggie&rsquo;s side in the ER. It didn&rsquo;t look good.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the City of Sacramento and the police department were looking for someone to blame.&nbsp;

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 7: The Big Red Handle

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e19ee7a3-d24b-493b-a6ec-b32a0168b1bb/transcript