Indiana- This 26-year-old man passed away due to deputies laying on top of him, with his face shoved in a pillow, for 15 minutes after 911 was called because he was having a seizure at home.
On September 8th, Rhyker Brian Earl was having a severe seizure. His grandmother called 911 while he was having the seizure. Jasper County Sheriff's deputies and EMTs arrived. After the severe seizure, Rhyker was attempting to put on a pair of shorts so he could go to the hospital in the ambulance.
Like so many other individuals who suffer from severe seizures, he was unsteady on his feet and in a confused state of mind.
While putting a pair of shorts on, Rhyker Earl stumbled, lost balance, and made accidental contact with an officer. Due to this stumble, officers laid on top of him while he seized. The deputies told him that he could not act that way to officers. This alarmed his grandmother since she saw that Rhyker was absolutely no threat, and threatening no one. He simply stumbled.
Rhyker was surprisingly handcuffed for making accidental contact with an officer. Multiple officers put their full weight on the young man until he went unconscious. They ignored his aunt's desperate pleas and his grandmother's heartbreaking pleas for them to stop because she saw her grandson turning blue and going limp.
They knew that their nephew, their grandson, was having his life taken from him, right in front of them.
While Jasper County deputies laid on top of him with his face shoved in a pillow, face down, EMTs administered sedatives. They had responded earlier in the day to a seizure Rhyker had. They knew he was in a medical emergency.
For 15 minutes this young man's face was shoved in a pillow while he had a seizure. He could not breathe. While he could breathe at the beginning he was telling the officers he was having trouble breathing. His last words were about not being able to breathe. His very last words were him begging the officers to not kill him. Rhyker also had asthma in addition to seizures.
This young man did nothing wrong. He simply stumbled while putting one of his legs through a pair of shorts.
Rhyker died because he stumbled while putting on a pair of shorts.
He did nothing criminal. Why was he treated like a criminal? Why was he not put in a safe position so he could breathe? Handcuffed individuals are to be kept on their side, they are never ever to be in the prone position for any extended amount of time. It's weird to ask any of these questions, knowing he shouldn't have even been in handcuffs to begin with. This is a travesty of justice.
Rest in peace, Rhyker. May you get the justice you so surely deserve.
The late Mr. Earl and his family are being represented by the internationally renowned civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump. Below is a press release about the entire situation. The allegations are made by eyewitnesses as well as the attorneys in this situation.
Persons are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
One more photo below.
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