Trial Begins for 2 White Indianapolis Officers Charged w/Murdering Herman Whitfeld. Cops Answered 911 Mental Health Call by Holding Black Man Face Down, Suffocating Him During Arrest for No Crime

From [HERE] Two Indianapolis police officers are set to stand trial Monday in the death of a Black man after police shocked him with a Taser and restrained him face down during a mental health crisis in his parents’ home.

Officers Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez were indicted by a grand jury in April 2023 in Herman Whitfield III’s 2022 death. The officers, who have been on administrative leave, are being tried together as co-defendants.

The men both face one felony count each of involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, battery resulting in serious bodily injury and battery resulting in moderate injury, and one misdemeanor battery charge.

Opening statements are set for Monday morning in the trial, which is expected to last five days.

Ahmad, 32, and Sanchez, 35, were indicted after Whitfield’s family had spent nearly a year demanding that police release full body camera videos of his encounter with officers and called for the firing of up to six officers. 

In addition to involuntary manslaughter, the officers, Adam Ahmad, 31, and Steven Sanchez, 34, also face felony charges of reckless homicide and battery and an additional misdemeanor count of battery. Officer Sanchez faces a second count of involuntary manslaughter for using a Taser, according to the indictment. The officers could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

The videos, which were released in January 2023, document Whitfield’s final moments alive during a chaotic encounter with police.

Whitfield’s parents called 911 on April 25, 2022, and reported that their 39-year-old son, a gifted pianist, was in the throes of a mental health crisis at the family’s Indianapolis home. His mother, Gladys Whitfield had requested urgent medical care, saying that he was having a mental health crisis.

When officers arrived at their home, police body camera footage showed, Mr. Whitfield’s parents met them at the door. For most of the 22 minutes captured on video, Mr. Whitfield did not engage with police officers as he walked around the home. The officers and his mother asked Mr. Whitfield, who was naked, to put some clothes on because an ambulance was coming for him.

At one point in the video, Mr. Whitfield is seen quietly sitting in a room. He does not respond to the police and his mother as they speak to him. A few minutes later, Mr. Whitfield is seen running, causing a commotion and calling for water.

“Keep that Taser out,” an officer is heard saying in the video.

Moments later, as Mr. Whitfield is seen running around a table, an officer draws a Taser and pulls the trigger, stunning Mr. Whitfield, who falls by the table and pulls a tablecloth over himself.

“Oh my God,” Mr. Whitfield is heard yelling. “I’m dying. I’m dying.”

The police then handcuff Mr. Whitfield, face down.

“Can’t breathe,” Mr. Whitfield is heard yelling, moving his body as officers try to restrain him.

“Tres, be calm,” Mr. Whitfield’s father is heard saying in the background, calling Mr. Whitfield by a nickname. “Calm down, Tres. It’s Daddy.”

After a few moments, Mr. Whitfield gradually stops moving, and his yells fade to whimpers.

“Those are going to be way too tight,” an officer is heard saying about the handcuffs on Mr. Whitfield. “We’ll deal with that in a minute.”

As the police continue to restrain Mr. Whitfield, face down in handcuffs, he eventually stops moving or speaking.

Within minutes, paramedics arrive at the home, and when it appears that Mr. Whitfield is not breathing, they begin doing CPR on him.

“Why are they doing that if he was OK?” Ms. Whitfield is heard asking.

Mr. Whitfield was pronounced dead at a hospital later that morning. The Marion County Coroner later ruled his death a homicide, caused by “cardiopulmonary arrest in the setting of law enforcement subdual, prone restraint, and conducted electrical weapon use.”

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.”

“Mr. Whitfield needed professional mental health care, not the use of excessive force,” the filing said. 

The family is seeking unspecified damages. That civil case is set for trial in July 2025 in federal court in Indianapolis.