Man who prompted fight with Raleigh police sees bail set at $20K

A judge on Monday set bond at $20,000 secured for Frederick Darnell Hall, 44.

Hall may be eligible for pre-trial release if he can raise the money, but he'll be subject to a mental evaluation before that would happen, the judge said.

Hall was punching at Raleigh police officers in the intersection of Garner Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard Friday morning, and the confrontation was captured on video by several other motorists. Officers ordered Hall to calm down, but he did not respond. Ultimately,a half dozen officers used their clubs and fists to get him under control.

RPD releases body, dash camera video from incident on Aug. 17, 2018

Hall was hospitalized over the weekend, and he made his appearance in court Monday via video conference because authorities consider him a security risk. He is charged with resisting a public officer and assault on a government official, and his original bond was set at $45,000.

A defense attorney asked for Hall's release, saying "bond in that amount is unreasonable considering the circumstances of these charges."

Arguing for the state, Patrick Latour described Hall's dangerous behavior.

"He was combative, punching, biting several officers while they were attempting to question him and detain him," he said.

The judge agreed to reduce the original bond but make it secured.

Douglas Hall agrees the video shows his brother in crisis. "What I see is that he was afraid for his life," he said.

According to his criminal record, Hall was charged in March 2016 with resisting a public officer and assault resulting in physical injury.

His mother says he was injured in that encounter as well.

"This is the second time that they have beaten my child unconscious," Tomberlin said on Saturday.

"(They) beat him so bad, they had handcuffs on his hands, and it was swollen over the handcuff, and he had gashes in his head where they had done beat him in his head,” she said of Hall's 2016 arrest.

According to a Raleigh police spokeswoman, that encounter involved only the Highway Patrol.

All charges against him were later voluntarily dismissed and, the family says, Hall spent time at Holly Hill Hospital and was diagnosed as bipolar.

In speaking about the incident, representatives of the Raleigh Police Protection Association allowed that mental health may have played a role in Hall's actions.

Officers are trained to deal with the mentally ill, said RPPA President Matt Cooper, but they did not have a chance to question Hall about his competence before the situation turned violent.