Man Who Filmed Encounter With Cops Had Meningitis: Sources

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A Paterson man who died two days after filming an encounter with police had meningitis, according to reports.

Jameek Lowery, 27, who died at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center on Monday, might have had the infection for months or years, doctors who examined his body told police, according to a report by NJ.com.

Paterson Mayor Andrew Sayegh said he learned of Lowery's condition Wednesday night, according to a report by NorthJersey.com.

An official report on the cause of Lowery's death has not yet been released by officials. The State of New Jersey Regional Medical Examiner's Office is conducting an autopsy, and the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office is expected to release an official report once that is complete.

Paterson officials are recommending that any resident or employee who interacted with Lowery leading up to his death be tested for meningitis. That included Sayegh, who was in contact with Lowery and was treated with antibiotics. He did not specify exactly how or when he interacted with Lowery.

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Mystery surrounding Lowery's death has been fueled by a live video on Facebook posted a video on Facebook Live Saturday morning of himself at Paterson Police Headquarters in which he said people were trying to kill him. In the video, he begged police not to shoot him.

"Please don't shoot me. I'm just paranoid," Lowery said in the video. "I'm just paranoid. That's it."

The video shows Lowery, a father of two, near the front desk asking for help, and for water, and saying that someone was trying to kill him. "Somebody's over there trying to kill me," Lowery said in the video. "Please don't kill me officers. Somebody help me."

A preliminary investigation showed that a 911 caller at 2:47 a.m. believed to be Lowery said he took Ecstasy and was paranoid, and he was taken to St. Joseph's University Medial Center, Valdes said. He became "erratic" at the hospital and left.

Lowery called 911 again about an hour later reporting that people were trying to kill him, Valdes said. He later went into Paterson Police Headquarters and was agitated. He called 911 again, she said.

Authorities placed him in an ambulance and police had to restrain him, according to the prosecutor. He was unresponsive when he got to the hospital, Valdes said. He was pronounced dead early Monday morning.

Valdes said in a statement earlier this week that Lowery may have taken ecstasy before he died. However, hospital toxicology reports show the father of two kids, ages 8 and 11 months, had not taken narcotics, NorthJersey.com reported.

Authorities said it could take up to eight weeks for a toxicology report to be complete, NJ.com reported.

WARNING: Video contains graphic material and explicit language.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

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