INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two Indianapolis police officers will go on trial Monday in connection with the death of a Black man who was restrained face down and stunned with a Taser by police during a mental health crisis at his parents’ house.
In April 2023, a grand jury charged officers Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez in connection with the death of Herman Whitfield III in 2022. The police are being tried as co-defendants, having been on administrative leave.
Involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, battery resulting in significant bodily injury, battery resulting in moderate injury, and one misdemeanor battery charge are among the felony counts the men face.
The trial is anticipated to run five days, with opening statements scheduled for Monday morning.
After Whitfield’s family demanded for up to six officers to be fired and for police to reveal full body camera footage of his encounter with policemen for almost a year, Ahmad, 32, and Sanchez, 35, were indicted.
Released in January 2023, the tapes show Whitfield’s last moments alive amid a tumultuous run-in with the law.
On April 25, 2022, Whitfield’s parents called 911 to report that their 39-year-old son, a talented pianist, was experiencing a mental health crisis at their Indianapolis home.
Whitfield was discovered pacing the house while nude by the police. Officers can be seen attempting to persuade Whitfield to put on clothes so that he can be transported to a hospital in body camera footage. Whitfield, however, moved from room to room without dressing and avoiding interaction with the officers.
Eventually, Whitfield is seen rushing past a dining room table before Sanchez uses a Taser to shock him, causing Whitfield to tumble to the ground and knock over furniture. Whitfield is shown squirming and being held face down on the ground by Sanchez, Ahmad, and other officers as they attempt to handcuff him.
Before Whitfield finally goes silent, he can be heard yelling and repeating “can’t breathe” a few times. Whitfield was shackled and unresponsive when officers rolled him over. At a hospital, he was declared dead.
Whitfield’s death was declared a homicide by the Marion County Coroner’s Office. According to an autopsy, he died from cardiac arrest while being subdued by law officers, prone restraint, and electrical weapon use.
Whitfield weighed 389 pounds (176 kilos), according to the article. His death was attributed to hypertensive cardiovascular disease and morbid obesity, according to the coroner’s office.
John Kautzman, the officer’s lawyer, had attempted to have the charges against both individuals dropped, claiming that the information presented did not amount to an infraction and that the grand jury proceedings were flawed.
The judge permitted the other allegations against the policemen to go to trial, but rejected Sanchez’s second claim of involuntary manslaughter.
Kautzman stated that Sanchez’s use of a Taser against Whitfield was a factor in the rejected involuntary manslaughter charge.
The only thing I ll say on record, which I ve said before, is we believe these officers did not commit any criminal actions whatsoever and that they shouldn t be standing trial for crimes, Kautzman said last week.
Ahmad and Sanchez are still employed by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on administrative duty.
A civil lawsuit filed by Whitfield s family against the city of Indianapolis and six police officers, including Ahmad and Sanchez, states that Whitfield died because of the force used against him and calls the force used against him unreasonable and excessive.
According to the complaint, Mr. Whitfield required expert mental health therapy rather than harsh force.
The family is requesting damages that are not defined. That civil case is set for trial in July 2025 in federal court in Indianapolis.
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