Family says IMPD ignored man saying 'I can't breathe' before he died

WRTV's Adam Schumes talks with the family of Herman Whitfield III.

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By: Lucas Gonzalez

INDIANAPOLIS — The family of a man who died in police custody while suffering a mental health crisis has filed a lawsuit against the City of Indianapolis and six metro police officers, claiming police put his life at risk when they shocked and restrained him.

The federal lawsuit, filed Wednesday on behalf of the estate of Herman Whitfield III, cites body camera footage viewed by the family. It brings additional details of what happened to light, including how officers ignored him saying “I can’t breathe” and four to five officers got on his back while he was lying on his stomach and handcuffed, according to the lawsuit.

Police have not released body camera footage of the arrest, 911 calls or any other records of the incident. On May 3, IMPD denied WRTV's requests for body camera videos.

"We are unable to release this video because this incident is an open investigation," an email to WRTV in response to the records request read.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the city and the officers who were involved in Whitman's April arrest.

Police have said Herman Whitfield III, 39, was experiencing mental distress and requested an ambulance when Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to his home on the city's northeast side April 25.

According to the lawsuit, one of the officers asked Mrs. Whitfield when they arrived if everybody was alright, to which she said “yeah.” Whitfield’s father then asked officers “where’s the ambulance?” which they didn’t respond to.

IMPD said that after more than 10 minutes of negotiating and using de-escalation tactics, Whitfield quickly moved toward an officer, and a Taser was deployed on him twice. After the Taser deployment, Whitfield was allegedly still resisting arrest and was double handcuffed.

Richard A. Waples and Israel Nunez Cruz, the attorneys representing Whitfield's family, said in a news release Wednesday that police "Needlessly tasered and then crushed the breath out of an unarmed, non-violent Mr. Whitfield ... (and) callously ignored his desperate, repeated cries, 'I can't breathe' as he was being handcuffed while lying on his stomach."

Waples further stated, "Mr. Whitfield did not present a danger to the officers, and there was no need to taser him."

IMPD and the Office of Corporation Counsel declined to comment on the lawsuit, stating, "Out of respect for the judicial process, we do not comment on pending litigation."

When IMPD officers arrived at Whitfield's home, they said he was moving around the home naked, sweating and bleeding from the mouth.

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The lawsuit alleges officers tried to speak with Whitfield while he was naked on his bed. But because he was experiencing a mental health crisis, he could not respond to their questions. It says 10 minutes later Whitfield then got up, walked into an adjoining hallway and went from the kitchen to the dining room.

Police have said Whitfield made a sudden move toward an officer.

"Several officers followed Mr. Whitfield into the kitchen and into the dining room. Officer Sanchez was waiting in the dining room with his taser pointed at the doorway and when Mr. Whitfield came into that room Officer Sanchez shot him with his taser, deploying it at least twice," the lawsuit alleges.

"Mr. Whitfield collapsed to the dining room floor yelling “fire,” fire,” responding to the 50,000 volts of electricity pulsing through his body," according to the lawsuit.

IMPD said Taser prongs struck Whitfield on the left side of his abdomen. The department previously said the device hit Whitfield's chest.

The lawsuit goes on to say four or five officers then got on top of Whitfield while he was lying on his stomach and cuffed his hands behind his back. It says Whitfield gasped for breath and said "I can't breathe" several times.

Police have not released body camera footage of the arrest, 911 calls or any other records of the incident. On May 3, IMPD denied WRTV's requests for body camera videos.

"We are unable to release this video because this incident is an open investigation," an email to WRTV in response to the records request read.

A police report states that when medics got inside Whitfield's home after the scene was secure, they found Whitfield unresponsive. His handcuffs were taken off and they performed CPR on him as he was taken to the hospital.

Whitfield later died at a hospital. Though the Marion County Coroner has not yet released a cause of death, the lawsuit claims officers put Whitfield at "significant risk of positional asphyxia" when he was restrained while on his stomach.

"Mr. Whitfield, who was in his family home, needed professional mental health care, not the use of excessive deadly force," the lawsuit states.

The department later released the names of the officers involved in the arrest: Steven Sanchez, Adam Ahmad, Matthew Virt, Dominique Clark, Jordan Bull and Nicholas Mathew.

Sanchez and Ahmad have been with the department for a little more than two years; Virt has been on IMPD for nearly three years; Bull has been on the force for nearly eight years and Mathew is a recruit trainee with less than a year of service.

IMPD has said the officers will remain on administrative leave until they complete officer wellness assessments and the chief and executive staff complete a preliminary review of the incident.

On Wednesday afternoon, the family and lawyers held a press conference. You can watch it below.