INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - 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.
"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, 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. The videos document Whitfield's final moments alive during a chaotic encounter with police.
Whitfield´s parents called 911 on April 25, 2022, reporting that their 39-year-old son was experiencing a mental health crisis at the family´s Indianapolis home. Responding officers found Whitfield naked and pacing inside the home. Body camera videos show officers trying to convince Whitfield to put on clothing so he could be taken to a hospital. But Whitfield did not dress and avoided contact with the officers.
"Mr. Whitfield needed professional mental health care, not the use of excessive force," the filing said.
Whitfield is eventually seen running past a dining room table before Sanchez shocks him with a Taser causing him to fall to the floor. Officers held Whitfield face down while handcuffing him; he can be heard saying "can't breathe" before falling silent. He was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly thereafter.
The Marion County Coroner´s Office ruled Whitfield´s death as "cardiopulmonary arrest in the setting of law enforcement subdual."
The coroner listed contributing factors such as "morbid obesity" and "hypertensive cardiovascular disease." The court dismissed one count against Sanchez but allowed other charges against both officers to proceed to trial.