Fraternal Order of Police President Rick Snyder had harsh words to share Friday about the county prosecutor following the acquittals of Indianapolis police officers Steven Sanchez and Adam Ahmad, who were charged for their roles in the death of Herman Whitfield III.
“There were no winners in this trial,” Snyder said. “No criminal actions have taken place.”
He said the two men were doing their jobs and that their prosecution could make it more difficult for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to recruit officers.
“Is this really the way we, as a society, want to treat those who step forward to help serve and protect?” Snyder asked.
The officers were indicted by a grand jury in the death of Herman Whitfield III, a 39-year-old man in the grips of mental illness during the early hours of April 25, 2022, when his parents called 911. Whitfield was behaving erratically. and ran naked through his parents’ home when officers arrived. He died while being restrained on the ground by police.
In the days after Ahmad and Sanchez were indicted last year, Snyder released a statement calling on then-Chief Randal Taylor to immediately suspend nearly all mental health calls to police.
Police assistance should only be deployed during a mental health disturbance, Snyder’s statement continued, when a suspected crime has occurred or when paramedics, firefighters or city volunteers request assistance.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears “covered his political backside” by filing charges against the officers through a grand jury, Snyder said Friday.
“We cannot allow this prosecutor to continue doing business this way,” Snyder said. “He knows better, and so do those who have carried his water and done his dirty work in these dirty persecutions.”
Mears’ office did not immediately return a request for comment.
Snyder said the FOP “will pursue intervention at the Statehouse and sanctions” for what he characterized as “failed prosecutorial theater.” He declined to provide further details about what that intervention might entail.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy police union leader Rick Snyder lashes out at prosecutor Ryan Mears
