INDIANAPOLIS — Closing arguments will begin Friday morning in the trial of two IMPD officers accused of the in-custody death of Herman Whitfield III.
Officers Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez face charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, and battery.
On Friday, the court heard from Officer Ahmad.
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He said his focus was getting Whitfield handcuffed, and said he followed IMPD's training throughout the process. Ahmad also said at no point was he aware that Whitfield was no longer breathing.
Throughout his testimony, Ahmad said he told Sanchez to stay on Whitfield's head because he, "did not want him to go back to that previous state and did not want to deal with what we had to deal with before."
Ahmad said he was concerned about Whitfield's head in a confined space, with a corner nearby and broken glass. He said he did not apply force to Whitfield after he was cuffed but had his hand on Whitfield in case Whitfield acted out again.
Admad also said he did not hear Whitfield say, "I can't breathe."
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The prosecution questioned Ahmad about General Orders 8.1 and the symptoms displayed resulting from excited delirium.
The prosecution also questioned why Ahmad did not check Whitfield's pulse. He said IMPD is not trained to do so after general handcuffing.
The court also heard from two doctors who both have testified in high-profile cases.
The first was Dr. William Smock. He was an expert doctor for the prosecution in the case of George Floyd and former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin.
Dr. Smock said he's responded to more than 1,000 crime scenes and has performed more than 1,000 autopsies. He also trains FBI agents, U.S. Attorney's, and judges on how to evaluate strangulation and asphyxia cases.
He said he usually testifies for the prosecution.
In this case, he's testifying against the prosecution. He said based on his expertise, he believes Whitfield died from THC-induced cardiac arrest based on THC levels found in his system, with contributing factors such as heart disease.
Dr. Smock said Whitfield's large size and enlarged heart played a role. He does not believe Whitfield died from the prone position or taser.
He called Whitfield's heart "a ticking time bomb."
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"The officers were doing what they were trained to do. He took THC and was having a bad trip, incoherent speech. This wasn't the first time. He knew what would happen, but he took it anyway," said Dr. Smock. "The officers did what they're supposed to do. The officers are trained to take him into custody. It's unfortunate he had this cardiac event."
Defense Attorney John Kautzman asked if Whitfield died of asphyxia.
"Absolutely not," said Dr. Smock. "I've looked at asphyxia all across the country and this is not one of them. The minimum time is two minutes, maybe longer, of pressure to the chest before they go unconscious. Whitfield was shorter than that so that says this is not positional asphyxia."
Dr. Smock said the death occurred while being restrained in prone position but that is not what caused the death.
"Was this a taser or electrocution death?" asked Kautzman.
"No sir. Taser had nothing to do with it," said Dr. Smock. "His heart suddenly stopped."
Dr. Smock also said the Marion County pathologist did not do enough testing to turn every stone in the case.
During cross-examination, Dr. Smock said Whitfield was going to die no matter what because of the THC levels in his body mixed with his heart condition.
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The second doctor to testify was Dr. Alon Steinberg. He has testified as a cardiologist expert against the doctor convicted in the death of Michael Jackson.
He told the jury he did not agree with Dr. Smock. He believes Whitfield died from prone restraint cardiac arrest.
"First, he was in metabolic acidosis. He was sweating profusely. He ran, got tased. It didn't complete the full cycle, but it further increased his sympathetic tone," said Dr. Steinberg. "Then, he struggled with the officers. He was a very large man, he needed all of the ventilation. His acid level went to where it couldn't keep up. I would not expect THC to make him go into acidosis. He was yelling 'I can't breathe' before he was cuffed. He made whimpering noises as he was cuffed. Somewhere in there, he had cardiac arrest."
Dr. Steinberg argued that Whitfield's heart was thickened and large, but normal for his size. He did not see congestive heart failure or any evidence of Whitfield passing out prior due to his heart.
Both doctors agreed that Whitfield "flat-lined" prior to fully being handcuffed.
The defense rested around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Closing arguments will begin Friday at 8:30 a.m. Then the case will be turned over to the jury.
