Since April 25, 2022, we have been in the depths of sadness, grief, trauma, despair and fear after being forced to witness the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department police officers brazenly brutalize and kill our son in our faces in our home.  What we experienced that day and since is every parent’s worst and continuing nightmare.  However, we have summoned our faith, courage and strength to share what happened that day because we need community support at this time and we believe that it is important for all of the Indianapolis community and the world to know what the IMPD did to our son, us, our family, and our community.  We also share this statement because we are only one of many families forever harmed by the epidemic of police violence and we wish to publicly express our support for and stand for justice with the many people, in Indianapolis and throughout the country, who have been recklessly traumatized and killed by this country’s extrajudicial policing practices.

Herman Whitfield, III was a child prodigy, phenomenally gifted Black pianist, and composer, and our dearly loved son.  But, whether Herman III was exceptional or ordinary does not matter - he was a human. He was a beautiful, caring, gentle, and sensitive human. And, he was a member of the Indianapolis community in need of compassion and care.  Yet, at the lowest point of Herman III’s life, the IMPD denied him any compassion as they brutalized and killed him – with no justification for doing so. We think that it has clearly been shown, even with video edited by the IMPD, that the IMPD did not follow its own procedures or policy when they killed Herman III.

Before daylight on April 25, 2022, Herman III was experiencing unexpected severe mental health symptoms and had a minor injury to his face.  We were never fearful of our son and he never threatened us in any way.  We simply wanted Herman to go to the hospital.  We called 911 and requested urgent medical care to help our son as we understood that health professionals and negotiators could help us get Herman III the care that he needed.  Instead of an ambulance, six IMPD officers arrived at our home.  We were confused to see the IMPD officers.  When they came to our door, Herman III's father, Herman Jr., asked the officers where the ambulance was and we told the officers that we wanted Herman III to go to the hospital. The officers never told us that they intended to use tasers or handcuffs on our son.  And, we never considered that this type of force would ever be used in responding to a call to help our son - an unarmed and non-threatening person in need of medical care.

We were with our son the entire time that the IMPD officers interacted with him - he was never aggressive and he never posed any threat to us or any of the officers.  Without any provocation or warning, to Herman III or us, the IMPD officers tasered our son - once, and then, again. Then, the officers double handcuffed him, kept him positioned with pressure on his chest, and didn't move him even after he cried out that he could not breathe.  Then, our son stopped speaking and he stopped moving.  When his mother, Gladys, repeatedly asked an IMPD officer what was wrong with Herman III - why he was not moving - the officer told us that he was alright and they tasered him just a little bit.  With this air of callousness and apathy, IMPD officers killed our son before our faces in our living room.

According to the coroner's report, IMPD called the paramedics and waited about three minutes as our son lay on his chest and motionless on our living room floor.  When the paramedics came into our home, someone finally tried to save Herman III's life, but the paramedics could not resuscitate him.  Then, they put him on a stretcher and took him outside.  Within minutes of killing our son in front of us, IMPD officers searched our home without a warrant and without permission (and only obtained a warrant later).  They also threatened to arrest Gladys when she told them that they did not have permission to search our home.

Rather than escort us to the hospital to spend our last few moments with our son, the police told us that we could not leave our home.  So, we called an attorney for help.  Meanwhile, we managed to escape our home by backing out of our garage, while the police chased us as we left our driveway.  By the time we arrived at the hospital, we were told that our son had been pronounced dead and that we could not see him.  But, we insisted and, several hours later, we were finally allowed to see our son's body - and only under IMPD's watch.

In July 2022, after nearly three months of waiting, we received the coroner's report which confirmed that IMPD caused Herman III’s death and documented extensive cuts and internal bleeding in Herman’s head, neck, chest, abdomen, arms, wrists, and left knee and ankle.

Since April 2022, IMPD has refused our requests and others multiple calls to release the complete and unedited body camera footage from all of the police officers who came to our home.  Instead, the police have released only a voice-over narrated, heavily edited, and skewed compilation of the body camera footage.  Even this video footage, that IMPD edited, shows that IMPD did not follow its own procedures or policies or the law when they killed our son. Yet, the IMPD officers who killed our son have not been fired.

In our efforts to seek justice for Herman III and inform the public about what IMPD did to our son, family, neighborhood, and the Indianapolis community, we have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Indianapolis and we ask for the community to join us in demanding that city officials and police IMMEDIATELY do the following:

1) Release the complete and unedited body camera footage from every officer who came to our home on April 25, 2022 to our attorneys, the press, local organizers, and the public;

2) Terminate all of the officers who were involved in the killing of our son and violation of our rights to ensure that they do not harm any other community members; and

3) Fully comply with the prosecutor's office as it considers arrest of and criminal charges against all of the officers who were involved in the homicide of Herman III.

We sincerely hope that you will support us in our efforts to seek justice for Herman Whitfield, III by bringing increased attention to IMPD's killing of our son, sharing news of the circumstances surrounding his death far and wide, and publicly standing with us in our demands for 1) transparency from IMPD and 2) the termination, criminal prosecution, and incarceration of all officers involved in the circumstances surrounding the killing of Herman Whitfield, III.

The Whitfield Family

August, 2022

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Point of Contact to Support the Family, Organizing & Community Actions:

Dea Lott

Email:  info@justice4herman3rd.org

Website:  www.justice4herman3rd.org

Point of Contact for Press, Media, Communications & Inquiries:

Israel Nunez Cruz CRUZ LAW FIRM

148 E. Market Street, Suite 501

Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

TEL: (317) 423-9668

FAX: (317) 423-9677

EMAIL: icruzlawfirm@gmail.com

&

Richard A. Waples

WAPLES & HANGER

410 N. Audubon Road

Indianapolis, Indiana 46219

TEL: (317) 357-0903

FAX: (317) 357-0275

EMAIL: rwaples@wapleshanger.com

News & Press Releases about Herman Whitfield III:

• A celebration of life for an Indianapolis musician killed by IMPD response to mental health call

• Musical Genius of Herman Whitfield III 'was a gift to the world'
• Gifted Pianist, Herman Whitfield, Died in IMPD Custody

• Expert says IMPD 'did not abide by generally accepted police practices' in Herman Whitfield death
• Mental health is not a convenient topic, and it's too important to ignore

• Estate of Herman Whitfield III v. City of Indianapolis
• Whitfield Family Press Conference

• Incomplete Police Body Cam Footage
• Community Demands Unedited Body Cam Footage
• Whitfield Family Statement on Edited Body Cam Footage

• Coroner: Herman Whitfield III's Death in IMPD Custody was a Homicide
• Marion County Coroner's Report

• Lawyers ask court to stop release of bodycam footage in Indy man’s police custody death
• IMPD must release complete body cam footage for Herman Whitfield III by Jan. 3

More Articles about IMPD & Police Accountability in Indiana:

• Sept. 16, 2022:  Officers Sue IMPD & Cite Retaliation after Reporting a Sergeant’s Attack on Homeless Man - "Matthew Shores and Christopher Bibbey claim IMPD improperly retaliated against them for reporting an incident Sept. 24 on Monument Circle. The pair claim they reported Sgt. Eric Huxley’s use of force on a homeless man who was handcuffed."

• Indiana Is Among the Worst States for Holding Police Officers Accountable for Community Complaints:  According to the Police Scorecard, an organization that evaluates police departments based on quantitative data, here's the breakdown:

**Overall Score for POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY: 3%
**MISCONDUCT Complaints Upheld: 2%
**EXCESSIVE FORCE Complaints Upheld: 1%
**DISCRIMINATION Complaints Upheld: 0%
**CRIMINAL MISCONDUCT Complaints Upheld: 11%

Between 2012 and 2020, INDIANA HAS GIVEN MORE MONEY to POLICE THAN to HEALTH and HOUSING for the community statewide.

Publications & Research on Policing & IMPD:

• US DOJ publication on positional asphyxia - from 1995 (publication addresses the dangers of prone positioning during arrest of persons who are violent and suspected of criminal activity - but does not address calls for medical care)
• Guardian article from 2020 citing this University of Chicago Report that evaluated police policies in 20 major US cities to determine if they met basic international human rights laws showing Indianapolis consistently ranked among the lowest in guarding basic human rights (see pages 17-18) in 2020