Two Indiana police officers recently appeared in court, two years after they were involved in the death of a Black man who was under a mental health crisis.
Held at the Marion County Courthouse, officers Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez sat during their hearing as the homicide trial began on Monday. Both officers are charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide and battery.
The trial begins more than two years after the death of the victim, Herman Whitfield III. The 39-year-old died after the police officers responded to a 911 made by Whitfield’s parents, Gladys Whitfield and Herman Whitfield Jr. His parents reported that he was suffering from a mental health crisis.
Four officers and one recruit reportedly responded. Once they arrived on the scene, Whitfield was shocked by a taser gun, handcuffed, and restrained face-down on the ground before he became unresponsive.
The training recruit reportedly asked Ahmad and Sanchez if they should roll Whitfield to the side after he no longer responded moments after saying he could not breathe, but was advised not to do anything to help.
The police officers on trial are still members of the force but are on paid administrative duty.
“He wasn’t doing anything at all to threaten the officers,” said Whitefield’s father per ABC News. “He was held face down for three or four minutes after saying repeatedly that he could not breathe. He said, ‘I can’t breathe three or four times and was held down three or four minutes after that.”
Day 4 is underway in the trial of IMPD officers Adam Ahmad & Steven Sanchez, who are charged in the April 2022 death of Herman Whitfield III. Officer Ahmad is on the witness stand now. Sanchez testified Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/PXWfqOppEl
— Rich Nye (@RichNye13) December 5, 2024
The latest trial comes as researchers report that there has not been an improvement in the number of cases of fatal police shootings in particular. Per Statista, as of Oct. 22 of this year, there have been a total of 956 fatal police shootings in the span of 10 months in the U.S.; of these 956 citizens, 207 were identified as Black.
Although the rate currently marks a slight decrease from the 1,164 cases reported in 2023, the latest research points to a larger need to address the rate of fatal police shootings amongst Black Americans.
Per the report, in the span of 2015 until now, there was an average of 6.2 fatal shootings of Black Americans at the hands of the police per a million of the population each year.
Approximately 1 million also experience some police threat or use of force.
Per John Hopkins University researchers, behavioral health calls most often lead to these fatal shootings.
“We recommend improving social services to make responding to behavioral health calls safer for everyone,” suggests co-director of the John Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. “Public support is high for these approaches including nonpolice mobile units, diversion to mental health services, and a police and mental health co-responder model.”
