INDIANAPOLIS — A grand jury indicted two IMPD officers for their alleged roles in the death of Herman Whitfield III, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.
Patrol officers Steven Sanchez and Adam Ahmad, both two-year veterans at the time of Whitfield's death, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, and multiple counts of battery.
Sanchez is facing an additional count of involuntary manslaughter for firing a taser at Whitfield.
No charges were announced against the four other officers involved in the incident that led to Whitfield's death.
Initial hearing
At an initial hearing Friday morning, a judge set bond for both officers at $15,000. Their next court date is July 5, with the trial preliminarily scheduled for July 11.
The officers have been ordered to have no contact with Whitfield's parents and are not allowed to have firearms outside of their homes, the judge ordered at Friday morning's initial hearing.
"As you can imagine, it's a difficult process to get indicted yesterday and surrender in court today. They believe that they were following their training and acted with no illegality or criminal intent in the situation, and we hope to be able to prove that," John Kautzman, attorney for Sanchez and Ahmad, said after Friday's hearing. "Their heart has always gone out to the Whitfield family. You know, they're in the business of protecting the community. And they put their lives on the line for citizens every day. So they understand when a tragedy occurs. And the question here isn't whether or not this was a tragedy. It's a question of whether or not they are legally responsible for that death. And I think the law says otherwise, and we look forward to trial."
Responses to indictment
On Friday, the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement and called on IMPD Chief Randal Taylor to make changes to response protocols.
In its statement, the FOP said it does not believe the facts of the incident support criminal charges against the responding officers, citing Whitfield's unpredictable behavior.
In addition, the FOP said IMPD should make the following immediate changes, which the FOP says will not require additional funding:
- All calls for assistance with anyone suffering a mental health crisis, including self-harm, be referred to IEMS and IFD for an immediate medical response
- Cease any law enforcement response for mental health runs, mental health disturbances, mental health crisis or mental health delirium unless a known crime or articulated threat of a crime has taken place.
Click here to read the FOP's full statement.
IMPD released the following statement in regards to Thursday's indictment:
Earlier today, Chief Randal Taylor learned the grand jury decision regarding the death of Herman Whitfield III. Chief Taylor respects the grand jury process.
As with anyone under indictment, the officers should be considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The officers involved, including those indicted, remain on paid administrative duty status while the internal process continues.
Mr. Whitfield’s death was a tragedy for all involved, and our thoughts continue to be with those impacted by his loss.
The attorneys for officers Ahmad and Sanchez released the following statement in response to the indictment:
A Grand Jury convened by Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears today indicted two IMPD Officers arising from an incident that occurred in the performance of their duties. These charges only represent probable cause to hold a trial and are not proof of guilt. Officers Ahmad and Sanchez have no previous criminal or disciplinary history. The merit of these allegations will ultimately be determined through due process in a court of law and we ask the public to allow that process to play out. The officers look forward to a full and fair opportunity to defend themselves in court and establish that they did not act illegally or with any type of criminal intent. We also ask that you continue to support all of the officers of IMPD as they endeavor to protect our City.
Background and response from IMPD, Whitfield's family
Whitfield died on April 25, 2022, after his parents called 911 for help as they believed their son was having a mental health crisis. Police tased and restrained Whitfield before he died. His death was ruled a homicide by the coroner's office.
Two months after Whitfield's death, IMPD released an edited version of the officers' bodycam footage.
The edited video did not show the time it took after Whitfield was handcuffed and became unresponsive to when paramedics began providing care.
In November 2022, Whitfield's family and lawyers asked a federal judge to release those bodycam videos in their entirety.
In mid-January, the Whitfield family won access to the videos, and the city's request for a protective order to keep the videos out of the public eye was denied.
The Whitfields shared a 22-minute-long compilation of six bodycam videos from the night Whitfield died, which they said countered IMPD's version of events.
They also said their compilation of the video, unlike IMPD's version, showed Whitfield "vulnerable, unarmed, naked, undergoing a mental health crisis."
The family said despite the disturbing nature of watching their son die in the video, they want the public to know what happened.
The video shows Whitfield retreating from officers multiple times.
"Cannot breathe. I can't breathe," Whitfield is heard saying after police tased and held him on the ground. He continues to yell "I can't breathe" multiple times while face down in the prone position as officers handcuffed him.
From the time Whitfield made his last sound, three minutes passed before paramedics arrived.
IMPD's version of bodycam video said it took paramedics three minutes to arrive. The Whitfield family's version was the first time we saw what happened in those minutes and could verify IMPD's timeline claims.
No officers appeared to check on the health of Whitfield after he became silent.
Paramedics started CPR five-and-a-half minutes after Whitfield made his last noise.
After an autopsy, the coroner ruled Whitfield's death a homicide caused by cardiopulmonary arrest in the setting of police subduing him with a prone restraint just after he was tased. The report lists morbid obesity and hypertensive cardiovascular disease as contributing conditions.
Six officers were in the home at the time. In addition to officers Ahmad and Sanchez, officers also involved in the incident were: Matthew Virt (three-year veteran), Dominique Clark (six-year veteran), Jordan Bull (eight-year veteran) and recruit trainee Nicholas Mathew (with IMPD since August 2021).
In February, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said, "You'll see a resolution in terms of that case sometime very soon."
In January, IMPD shared this statement in response to the Whitfields' release of their version of the police video:
"IMPD turned over the necessary materials to all of the parties involved in this lawsuit, and that includes officer body-worn-camera footage. Out of respect for the judicial process, we do not comment on pending litigation.
Right now, a separate administrative investigation is being conducted by IMPD Internal Affairs. The officers involved in this incident remain on administrative duty.
At the conclusion of the criminal investigation and any criminal proceedings, the civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board will review the criminal and administrative investigations and make a recommendation to the Chief of Police on whether the officer’s actions were in compliance with department policies and training.
Based on a careful review of the facts and the Use of Force Board’s feedback, Chief Taylor will consider discipline up to a recommendation of termination to the IMPD Civilian Police Merit Board."
In the months following Whitfield's death, multiple community groups have repeatedly called for the officers involved to be fired.
The Black Church Coalition is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate what it described as a pattern of excessive force by IMPD officers.