Paramedic testifies about restraint of Herman Whitfield III in IMPD officers’ trial
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The fate of two Indianapolis police officers on trial for manslaughter may hinge on how the jury interprets the word “restrained.”
Officers Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez are accused in the death of Herman Whitfield III in April 2022. They went to his house because he was having a mental health crisis.
Tuesday was the second day of their trial.
The paramedic who tried to save Whitfield, Delaney Kniesly, testified in court that she “would have gotten him to quicker” if she had known Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers had been keeping him in a prone position.
Ahmad and Sanchez are charged with manslaughter and other counts. They were two of six officers who responded to Whitfield’s home after his parents called 911 because he was having a mental health crisis.
The outcome of the trial may hinge on how jurors interpret the meaning of “restrained” in the IMPD General Orders for officers. Testimony on Tuesday, at times, focused on if officers properly restrained Whitfield when they placed him in handcuffs.
One of the officers, Nick Matthew, was involved in cuffing Whitfield. While Whitfield was in the prone position, Matthew testified, he crossed Whitfield’s legs and bent them up toward his back to prevent him from moving so other the officers could cuff Whitfield.
I-Team 8 timed the sequence of events when body camera video from the officers was played in court, finding it took roughly 1 minute, 15 seconds for officers to successfully cuff Whitfield.
Roughly 1 minute, 30 seconds later, Matthew, who was still going through field training at the time, asked the room of officers if they should roll Whitfield into a position where he could breathe more easily.
Ahmad said no, Matthew testified, adding, “Believe he said he (Ahmad) didn’t want him to keep fighting.”
Kniesly arrived several minutes later. Whitfield remained in a prone position for the entire time. Whitfield was rolled over fully once the paramedic discovered he did not have a pulse.
By I-Team 8’s calculations, Kniesly started doing chest compressions roughly 5 minutes after Whitfield was successfully handcuffed.
Kniesly testified in court that she was not told Whitfield was in a prone position and that he was not breathing. She said if she had known he wasn’t breathing, “I would not have talked to the officer, would not have talked to the parents. I would have immediately gone to Herman and turned him over.”
By protocol, Kniesly and another emergency medical technician were staged down the street from the Whitfield home until police told them that the home was safe to enter.
Evidence was presented that showed the officers involved notified police dispatch the home was safe moments after Whitfield was successfully handcuffed. Police dispatch then radioed the dispatcher for the paramedic to let them know it was safe for them to go inside. Information about Whitfield being prone was not shared with Kniesly.
The forensic pathologist who did the autopsy on Whitfield testified in court that marijuana did not play a factor in his death. Empty wrappings from marijuana edibles were found in Whitfield’s trash can in his bedroom.
Before court adjourned Tuesday night, the prosecution told the judge they could be close to resting their case Wednesday.
The judge told the defense team to be prepared to start calling witnesses Wednesday.