INDIANAPOLIS — Two Indianapolis police officers were acquitted of manslaughter and other charges Friday in the death of a Black man who was shocked with a Taser and restrained face down while being handcuffed as he was in the throes of a mental health crisis.
In less than three hours, jurors returned a verdict acquitting them on all charges, including one count of involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, battery resulting in serious bodily injury and battery resulting in moderate injury, and one battery charge.
Herman Whitfield, III, who was described as a gifted pianist, was suffering from a mental health crisis at their home in Indianapolis when his parents called 9-1-1 around 3 a.m. on April 25, 2022, reported WFYI Indianapolis.
The officers who responded found Whitfield naked and pacing inside the house. In the body camera video, officers can be heard requesting Whitfield put on clothing so that he could be transported to a hospital. Whitfield remained undressed and continued moving around the house from room to room. In the video, Whitfield can be seen running past a dining room table before Sanchez uses a Taser and Whitfield falls down near furniture.
Whitfield was then handcuffed and restrained face-down by the two officers.
On April 26, 2022, the Marion County Coroner’s Office ruled the 39-year-old man’s death a homicide and added that the cause of death was heart failure while under law enforcement restraint. In addition, the report said obesity and hypertensive cardiovascular disease were contributing factors in the man’s death. Toxicology tests in the coroner’s report also showed that Whitfield III had cannabinoids in his system, including THC and .
Whitfield III was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Whitfield attended attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School and went to Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio where he completed a five-year double degree program with three majors, earning a Bachelor of Music as a double major in both Composition and Piano Performance, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, The IndyStar reported. He also received his Master of Music in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2008.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez were indicted by a grand jury in April 2023 after Whitfield’s family for months demanded officials release full body camera videos of the encounter between the 39-year-old man and IMPD officers.
Ahmad and Sanchez were placed on administrative duty with IMPD during the case. On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, IMPD Chief Chris Bailey said both officers will undergo “refresher” training and resume their normal duties when completed.
Whitfield’s family filed a lawsuit against the city of Indianapolis and six police officers, including Ahmad and Sanchez. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, reportedly states that Whitfield “died because of the force used against him” and called the force used against Whitfield III “unreasonable and excessive.”
The civil case is set for trial in July 2025.
More on the trial and lawsuit.
