CHICAGO (CBS) — An Indiana father of two died after being handcuffed and pinned to a floor by sheriff’s police He died of natural causes after an attack in September, according to the Lake County Coroner.
Rhyker Earl, 26, died of cardiovascular disease, an enlarged heart and cardiac arrest, according to the coroner’s office. A forensic autopsy found no evidence of trauma.
Earl suffered a seizure on September 8 at a home in DeMotte, Indiana, about 60 miles southeast of Chicago. His grandmother called 911 for help, and Jasper County, Indiana’s sheriff, came to the house. The family said that while Earl was still recovering from his attack, he was confused and agitated and bumped into an officer.
The family said officers responded by handcuffing Earl and pinning him face down on the ground, then remained on top of him while paramedics sedated him.
Earl’s aunt, Miracle Gawlinski, said he pleaded for his life as officers pinned him to the ground.
“He was still face down in a pillow, handcuffed, officers on top of him, administering sedatives for a long period of time while I was there, begging, pleading, crying, ‘I can’t breathe! Help me!'” Gawlinski said.
After about 15 minutes, Earl became limp, and Gawlinski said she noticed Earl turning blue. An EMT took his pulse and he was not breathing, she said. Officers tried to revive Earl, but it was too late.
Earl was taken to the hospital without life support and died on September 10.
Jasper County Sheriff Patrick Williamson Sr. has said its officers have received proper training when they handcuffed Earl and claimed the family’s lawyers had “assailed the community with falsehoods.”
“Officers placed Mr. Earl in handcuffs for his safety and that of the medical providers,” Sheriff Patrick Williamson Sr. said. of Jasper County in a statement. “Mr. Earl was in an agitated state and did not respond to pleas from deputies or his family to remain calm.”
Williams said the video taken with officers’ body-worn cameras showed officers placing a pillow under Earl’s head to prevent injury. Earl’s breathing was not restricted, he said.
“The video clearly shows officers restraining Mr. Earl by his legs, arms and shoulders,” Williamson said. “Per training, officers restrained him in a manner that did not restrict breathing, and Mr. Earl was talking throughout the incident.”
Body camera footage released in late September shows a deputy entering the home – where other deputies are inside and Earl says, “Leave me the fuck alone.” Earl’s grandmother is then heard telling officers that her grandson has been suffering from seizures.
Then you hear a deputy shouting at Earl, who is now in another room: ‘Don’t touch the doctors! You’re going to the hospital, okay? Hit them! Do you understand? You don’t hit them!’
Later in the video, Earl is seen in handcuffs face down on the kitchen floor as he is pinned in place by multiple deputies and medics. Earl repeatedly shouts, “Guys! Please!’ and also says more than once, “I’m dying!” One of the first responders is also seen injecting Earl with something twice.
The video shows Earl’s grandmother present in the kitchen as she tells him that first responders and deputies are trying to help him. He is finally silent as he is loaded onto a backboard.
The sheriff’s office said Earl can be seen in the video banging his head on the ground, after which officers placed a pillow under his head to prevent him from injuring himself. The sheriff said officers deliberately placed Earl in a position that would not restrict his breathing.
But attorneys for Earl’s family said once officers and paramedics arrived, the situation escalated. They said Earl was confused and still recovering from the attack when he was handcuffed face down.
Earl’s family has called for major policy changes at the sheriff’s office, arguing that no other family should experience such grief.
“He had a medical crisis. They did what most people in America would do. They called 911. They needed a helping hand. They didn’t need a death sentence,” family attorney Ben Crump said days after the body camera footage was captured. issued.
The family has also accused officers of using excessive force.
“He went through torture and he just needed some help because of a seizure. I don’t understand it, I’ll never understand it, but we need change,” said Earl’s grandmother, Sharon Krause-Earl.
The Jasper County District Attorney’s Office and Indiana State Police investigated Earl’s death and the sheriff’s office’s handling of the incident.
The family has not yet filed a lawsuit over his death.
