Jury finds two IMPD officers for 2020 charges from protest not guilty
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A jury found two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers not guilty on charges related to the excessive force used on two women during a 2020 protest in downtown Indianapolis.
The two officers, Jonathan Horlock and Nathaniel Schauwecket were charged with six counts of battery and official misconduct after both were accused of striking Ivore Westfield and Rachal Harding with a baton for violating an 8 p.m. curfew that went into effect in the last week of May 2020.
The jury decided not guilty on four of the six charges. It was not clear what happened to the remaining two.
The prosecution said on Friday the two officers were good cops who made a mistake that happened to be criminal, while the defense argued they followed their training.
I-Team 8’s Richard Essex captured the officers’ encounter with two women just after 8 p.m. on May 31 after a curfew went into effect during protests of racial injustice.
In the video, police order everyone to stop and get on the ground. A few did, while others ran. Ivory Westfield had her hands behind her back, her face covered, and stood still for a few seconds. Shortly after, she appears to resist the officers’ commands.
As Westfield attempted to break free from the officer, viewers can hear another officer say, “Hit her.” Westfield was shot at least three times with pepper balls (non-lethal projectiles) and struck at least five times in the legs by two officers with batons.
Both women were held to the ground and eventually detained.
An internal investigation conducted by IMPD cleared both officers of any wrongdoing.
