Cardiologist testifies Whitfield ‘died of prone restraint from police subdual’

This article will be updated. The criminal trial for the police officers charged in the death of& Herman Whitfield III& started Monday, including testimony from a responding officer, a police supervisor and his father.& Whitfield, a Black man, died after being restrained face down by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers during a mental health crisis in 2022. His parents had called 911 seeking assistance. The jury will deliberate over the next five days to determine the fate of the officers.& In April 2023,& a grand jury in Indianapolis indicted& two of the six responding officers, Adam Ahmad and Steven Sanchez, on charges related to Whitfield’s death. Both officers arrived at the courtroom in Indianapolis this morning wearing their IMPD uniforms.& The coroner’s office ruled Whitfield III’s death a homicide and further ruled he died from heart failure while under law enforcement restraint. The case has led to widespread coverage and a& local campaign& to fire the officers involved and& push for an investigation& from the U.S. Department of Justice into IMPD’s practices.& The jury will decide if the officers are guilty of felony charges, including involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, battery resulting in moderate bodily...