Steve Janoski and Christopher Maag and Joe Malinconico

PATERSON — The Fourth Ward neighborhood where Jameek Lowery grew up is mean enough to harden the softest heart.

But Lowery's friends, family and acquaintances said in interviews this week that Lowery, who died Monday morning at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center after a controversial encounter with the Paterson police, never let his grim surroundings bleed into what they called a kind and loving personality.

Jamir King, 20, Lowery's half-brother, called Lowery, 27, by his nickname "Mickey" while describing the father of three as a uniting force in a conflicted family whose members were often estranged.

"We would walk past each other like we didn't even know each other," King said at a Wednesday protest in front of City Hall. "Mickey was the only one who was in touch with all of us. He called us on a Facebook group video chat and said, 'Yo, when are we gonna start talking to each other, telling each other we love each other?' Mickey got everybody talking again."

Greashia McElveen, 54, knew Lowery as a calm, respectful man who broke up neighborhood fights whenever he could.

"He was the guy to jump in and stop it," McElveen said. "He calmed everybody down, he was nice to everybody."

But something went drastically wrong this weekend for Lowery, who died just about a mile from Eastside High School, his alma mater, after a bizarre series of events beginning with a 911 call at about 2:45 a.m. on Saturday.

In the recently-released recording, Lowery asked for an ambulance to pick him up on Godwin Avenue and bring him to the hospital because he had taken too many "E pills" — slang for the recreational drug MDMA, or Ecstasy — and he was "paranoid." An ambulance did so, but Lowery became erratic and left the hospital, according to Camelia Valdes, the Passaic County Prosecutor.

BRUCE LOWRY:When will we get answers on Jameek Lowery’s death?

VIGIL PLANNED:Jameek Lowery: Paterson pastors plan prayer vigil for Sunday

MENINGITIS:Those in close contact with Jameek Lowery urged to seek treatment

He then went to the city's police headquarters, where he recorded a frantic Facebook Live video in which he said people — including police officers — were trying to kill him. Lowery was sweating profusely and asking for water as he told officers that other police thought he was cooperating with the FBI — an apparent reference to the federal probe that has led to the convictions of three Paterson cops and arrests of two others.

“If I’m dead in an hour or two, they did it,” he said of the officers.

Paterson firefighters arrived and again brought him to the hospital, but Lowery was unresponsive by the time he got there. He died two days later.

Story continues below gallery.

Lowery's family has alleged that police officers beat him, and his death has sparked two nights of demonstrations in the heart of the city.

City and state officials have said Lowery may have had bacterial meningitis, and are urging preventative treatment for those who may have come in contact with him. It remains unclear if that contributed to Lowery's death.

Family members said Lowery was unemployed and collecting Supplemental Security Income — money from a federal program that gives monthly checks to people in-need, including those with disabilities.

He had two boys, ages 5 and 8, and a daughter, 11.

King, his half-brother, said Lowery drank beer and smoked cigarettes but not marijuana. He tried Ecstasy only the one time, according to King.

Lowery's criminal record is limited to one case, in which he was convicted six years ago of third-degree narcotics distribution, according to state records.

Jamie Bland, a community activist, said Lowery's parents were not together but remained protective of their children. Bland said she did not know Lowery well, but was shocked by the 911 call, given his demeanor.

"I never knew him to get high," Bland said. "His brothers, they don't use anything. They're good kids."

Email: janoski@northjersey.com