Two Indianapolis police officers were acquitted in the death of a man who was restrained.

Officials said Friday that two Indianapolis police officers were exonerated of manslaughter in connection with the death of a man who was stunned and restrained on the ground during a mental health crisis.

The jury acquitted Indianapolis police officers Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez of all charges more than two years after the death of Herman Whitfield III.

According to authorities, the 39-year-old’s father said his son was experiencing psychosis when he contacted the police at 3:20 a.m. on April 25, 2022, and requested an ambulance.

Officers found Whitfield wandering around, nude, and bleeding from his lips. The police agency said that as he rushed forward an officer, they finally deployed a stun gun on him.

Before he passed away, Whitfield was shackled. He died, according to the prosecution, after being left prone and restrained.

Herman Jr. and Gladys Whitfield called for assistance in April 2022, believing that the police would save their son in a time of need. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears stated in a statement after the not guilty verdicts that the outcome was a complete tragedy.

In the context of law enforcement subdue, prone restraint, and electrical weapon use, Whitfield died of cardiac arrest, according to his autopsy, with morbid obesity and hypertensive cardiovascular disease playing a role. It was determined that he was murdered.

In 2023, Ahmad and Sanchez were charged with assault, reckless homicide, and involuntary manslaughter.

Whitfield’s death was terrible, but the evidence showed the officers did their best in difficult circumstances and did not commit a crime, according to John Kautzman, the defense lawyer for the officers, who spoke on Friday.

According to him, no one is in the business of going out and hurting people, especially sworn police officers. Helping people is what they do for a living, and that’s what they were attempting to do that day.

Chris Bailey, the chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, sent his condolences to the Whitfield family in a statement issued on Friday, stressing that the loss was tragic.

After the incident, Ahmad and Sanchez were put on leave; however, they will resume their regular responsibilities following refresher training, which Bailey explained was standard procedure.

According to Bailey, cases such as this are extremely challenging and there are no real winners.

Whitfield, who weighed 280 pounds and was 6 feet 2 inches tall, was handcuffed the morning of the incident, according to authorities.

Authorities said that Whitfield was unconscious when he was instructed to roll over by the medics who were waiting outside the house. According to the police department, Whitfield was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead after the handcuffs were taken off and CPR was started.

According to NBC affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Janna Skelton said during the trial’s closing comments that the officers chose to handcuff him on the ground and left him in a prone position, which is how he died.

According to the station, defense lawyers asserted that the cops were carrying out their duty, that Whitfield’s heart stopped before the handcuffs were placed, and that the handcuffing was lawful.

Whitfield passed away about two years after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis in May 2020 by an officer who kneeled on his neck, prompting other police departments throughout the nation to review or improve their restraint procedures for detained individuals.

Prosecutor Mears sent condolences to the Whitfields.

Mears addressed the audience, “I want to thank the jurors for their consideration of the testimony and evidence over the past five days, even though I am heartbroken for the Whitfield family.”

A request for response Friday evening was not immediately answered by a lawyer claiming to represent the Whitfields.

When the officers were charged, Whitfield’s father, Herman Whitfield Jr., told reporters, “He’s a wonderful young man,” according to WTHR video.

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