Jasper County sheriff denies claims by family attorney in DeMotte man’s death

In a statement released Thursday, Jasper County Sheriff Pat Williamson denied claims about how Rhyker Earl, 26, of DeMotte, was restrained by police before his death, made by his family’s attorneys.

Williamson said his department has reviewed multiple body-worn cameras worn by deputies when they were called on Sept. 8 to Earl’s home because he was having a seizure. He was removed from life support two days later after, according to Stephen Wagner, the family’s Carmel attorney, Earl complained he couldn’t breathe as deputies sat on him until he stopped breathing and his face turned blue.

“Compounding this tragic event, an attorney representing the family issued a press release full of inaccuracies about what happened that evening. In an apparent attempt to set the table for a civil claim, he has gaslit this community and the nation with gross falsehoods concerning the actions of our deputies,” Williamson said of Wagner’s release, issued Tuesday.

The Indiana State Police, Lowell Post has stepped in to investigate at Williamson’s request.

Law enforcement and Wagner, per their various statements about what happened, appear to agree on the basic points. Earl’s grandmother called 911 around 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 8 because Earl was having a severe seizure. Keener Township EMS and sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene.

As Earl was trying to put on shorts to go to the hospital, he lost his balance and fell on one of the officers who, according to Wagner, became aggressive and yelled at Earl, “You don’t treat law enforcement that way.”

Officers took Earl to the ground and handcuffed him face down on the floor, Wagner said, and multiple officers remained on top of Earl while EMTs administered three rounds of sedatives. Some of the EMTs had responded earlier in the day to a different location when Earl had another, less severe seizure. Earl also had asthma.

“Officers stayed on top of Rhyker for more than 15 minutes, with his face in a pillow. During this time, Rhyker begged for his life and screamed that he couldn’t breathe. His pleas, and those of his aunt and grandmother, were ignored,” Wagner said.

After more than 15 minutes, Earl went limp, according to Wagner. His aunt noticed Earl was blue in the face and pleaded with EMTs to do something. After “an agonizing few minutes,” Wagner said, they took Earl’s pulse and realized he was not breathing.

Williamson disputes Wagner’s contention that deputies sat on Earl for more than 15 minutes while his face was in a pillow.

Earl is seen forcefully banging his head on the floor in body-worn camera video, Williamson said, adding deputies asked the family for a pillow and placed it under his head to prevent Earl from injuring himself.

“His head was lying on the pillow; his breathing was not restricted,” Williamson said in his statement.

Williamson added that the video “clearly shows” deputies restraining Earl by his arms, legs and shoulders.

“Per training, deputies were holding him in such a way that would not restrict breathing, and Mr. Earl was vocalizing during the entire incident. Deputies also placed Mr. Earl on his side, also known as the ‘recovery position,’” Williamson said.

Williamson also denies that Earl’s pleas, and those of his aunt and grandmother, were ignored by the deputies at the house.

‘Mr. Earl was in an excited state, and multiple family members pleaded with him to remain calm and attempted to ensure him that deputies and medical personnel were there to help him. The family was standing nearby, verbally aiding in calming Mr. Earl,” Williamson said.

The Indiana State Police are independently investigating the incident, Williamson added. “We intend to release the body-worn camera video once the investigative agency has cleared us to do so.”

The family also has retained national civil rights attorney Ben Crump in the matter.

alavalley@chicagotribune.com