INDIANAPOLIS — The trial for two IMPD officers began on Monday, over two years after Herman Whitfield III died in police custody.
Herman also goes by "Tre."
Officers Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez face charges including Involuntary Manslaughter, Reckless Homicide and Battery.
The day began with the judge going over jury instructions regarding the trial. Open statements began around 9:45 a.m.
WHAT WE KNOW:
Whitfield died in April 2022 after police responded to his parent's home for a report of a man suffering from a mental health crisis.
Gladys Whitfield called 911 at about 3:20 a.m. on April 25 asking for help with their son who was suffering a mental health crisis at their home in the 3700 block of Marrison Place. Officers arrived shortly after.
"My son is having a psychosis," Herman Whitfield Jr. is heard on police body camera video telling the officers. "You guys should have called an ambulance."
Whitfield was stunned twice by a stun gun with six officers on the scene. The incident wascaptured on a series of 11 different body cameras.
BODY CAM FOOTAGE | What we know about the gifted pianist who died in IMPD custody
The Marion County Coroner's Office ruled Whitfield's death as a homicide caused by “cardiopulmonary arrest in the setting of law enforcement subdual, prone restraint, and conducted electrical weapon use."
VIDEO | 'Night of terror' Family recalls Herman Whitfield III's death in police custody
Shortly after Whitfield's death, there were calls for changes to the protocol surrounding mental health calls. In 2023, Indianapolis launched a clinician-led response team, a program that allows mental health clinicians and other experts to respond to 911 calls.
Herman Whitfield III was recognized as a loving man and a gifted pianist, whose love for music brought people together.
READ MORE | Herman Whitfield III: 'His music was a gift to the world'
OPENING STATEMENTS:
Prosecution
"Herman needed help," is how Prosecutor Dan Cicchini began his opening statement. "Herman was naked, sweating profusely, and saying unusual things, Herman needed help," he said.
Cicchini said the Whitfields realized something was wrong and called 911. 20 minutes after police arrived, they said Herman was on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back, quickly losing consciousness.
Cicchini stated that officers tased Whitfield before handcuffing him face down on the ground. When medics arrived, he was pronounced deceased.
According to the prosecution, Officers Ahmad and Sanchez violated their training in keeping Whitfield face down after he was restrained.
"They are trained that an individual in the prone position, meaning laying on your stomach, is at a greater risk for something that's called positional asphyxia. Essentially, they're at a greater risk of not being able to breathe well because they're laying on their stomach," Cicchini said.
The prosecution said officers are trained that someone in the prone position should be there no longer than what is absolutely necessary and that the risk of asphyxia is greater for an obese person, and a person with the symptoms Herman was experiencing that day.
"Because [Herman] was in the prone position, and because Officers Ahmad and Sanchez used force to keep him in the prone position, he was unable to breathe," Cicchini said.
The prosecution mentioned jurors will hear from Dr. Oneal, the pathologist who ruled Herman's death was a homicide. He said Dr. Oneal found THC in Herman's system, but that it did not play a role in his death. "What caused Herman to die, was his inability to breathe because of how he was positioned, and essentially his heart and lungs could no longer function properly," said Cicchini.
The prosecution asks the jury to find both Officer Ahmad and Sanchez guilty of all charges against them due to their use of excessive force.
"Officers are allowed to use force. Your job as the jury is to decide whether that force was reasonable and lawful. "When Mr. Whitfield was down in the prone position and hand-cuffed, that touching was no longer legal. They were allowed to be in the house, they were allowed to handcuff Mr. Whitfield, but when they kept him on the ground longer than what was necessary, when they prevented him from rolling over, when they prevented him from moving so that he could breathe, that touching turned from a lawful use of authority to battery." Cicchini said.
Defense
In the defense's opening statements, the attorney for Ahmad and Sanchez, Mason Riley, claims the defendants did not cause Whitfield's death and are innocent of all charges against them.
The defense laid out their timeline of events that day, going into detail on what they call “erratic” behaviors from Whitfield.
Riley pointed out the large size of Whitfield, who was almost 400 pounds. He argued these factors made the officer's actions reasonable.
Further in Riley's argument, he mention that Whitfield had "high levels" of THC in his system at the time of his death and said that it is "extremely likely" he died before he was handcuffed by officers. He said it wasn't the first time Whitfield had a toxic reaction to the substance.
"By the end of this case, you're going to see that these officers went to the Whitfield home to help Herman Whitfield III. They went there to get in an ambulance, to get him to the hospital, to do an immediate detention to get him the evaluation treatment that he needed. In the face of Herman's unpredictable and dangerous behavior, their actions were objectively reasonable," Riley said.
So far, the jury has gone over IMPD's general orders extensively, watched body camera video from different officer's vantage points, listened to the 911 call, and heard testimony from three witnesses.
WITNESS TESTIMONY
Sgt. Dominique Clark
The first witness was Sgt. Dominique Clark. She was the first responding officer, along with Officer Ahmad. She testified that Whitfield's father told them Herman was having a psychosis.
Clark said she and Ofc. Ahmad tried to talk to Herman and calm him down. "Herman, can you put on some clothes so we can take you to a hospital," she said in her body-worn video.
She told the court that she and Ahmad don't normally work in that district and were dispatched there to help out.
Sgt. Clark said she and Ofc. Ahmad could have left once the responding officers arrived but decided not to leave since they were already engaging with Whitfield.
Clark testified that Ofc. Ahmad kept eyes on Herman as he walked around the house and he could be heard saying the following:
"Tre can you talk to me? What’s going on with you? Can you look at me? Tre how did that happen to your lip? Tre can you hear me? Bud, can you look at me? Tre look up at me?"
Ahmad said to Clark, "He’s not responding at all. He’s just sitting on the bed with his eyes closed." Sgt. Clark then steps in. "Herman. Tre we need you to talk to us," Clark said.
His parents said the following:
"Put your robe on. Tre, Tre it’s daddy, come on out put your robe on. Tre, mommy needs you to come out. Tre, why aren’t you talking to us? Tre, we are going to take you to get some help and you won’t have to go through this OK? We need you to put some clothes on baby they can’t take you like that."
Whitfield III's Father,
Herman Whitfield Jr
Herman Whitfield III's father was the second witness to testify. He described what happened that morning.
He said before the 911 call, Tre tried to hug his mother while nude. His father slapped him, which caused his lip to bleed because his father said he didn't think that was appropriate.
He also became visibly upset when shown a picture of his son and talked about when his son stopped moving that morning.
During cross-examination, he was asked if he had knowledge of Tre doing drugs. Whitfield Jr. said no.
The defense pressed Whitfield Jr. on an instance in Florida when Whitfield Jr. picked his son up from a hospital due to an episode they said was triggered by THC.
"Were you told by those doctors about a mental health crisis," said Defense Attorney John Kautzman. "No," said Whitfield.
Sgt. Michael Duke
The third witness called by the state was Sgt. Michael Duke. He is the lead investigator on the case and is a homicide supervisor.
He discussed when his team was called out, how the body cameras work, and the training done by IMPD.
He said the department's MCAT, Mobile Crisis Assistance Team, was not working during this incident.
On Monday, Whitfield's mother said she was happy the trial had finally started.
The court will resume Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. The state will call more witnesses.
