‘No winners here.’ FOP president has harsh words for prosecutor after officers acquitted

Fraternal Order of Police president Rick Snyder had harsh words to share about the county’s prosecutor Friday following the acquittal of Indianapolis police officers Steven Sanchez and Adam Ahmad, who were indicted on charges over their role in the death of Herman Whitfield III.

“There were no winners in this trial,” Snyder said. “There were also no criminal actions.”

He said the two men were doing their jobs, and 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 throes of a mental health episode during the early hours of April 25, 2022 when his parents called 911. Whitfield was acting erratic and running naked around his parents’ home when officers arrived. He died while being restrained by police on the floor.

In the days after Ahmad and Sanchez were indicted last year, Snyder released a statement calling for then-chief Randal Taylor to immediately suspend nearly all mental health service calls made to police.

Police assistance should only be dispatched during a mental health disturbance, Snyder’s statement continued, when a suspected crime has occurred or when EMS personnel, fire department, or city volunteers request help.

Marion County prosecutor Ryan Mears “covered his political backside” by pursuing indictments for the officers through agrand jury, Snyder said Friday.

“We cannot allow this prosecutor to continue doing business like this,” Snyder said. “He knows better, and so do those who have been carrying his water and doing his dirty work in these dirty prosecutions.”

Mears’ office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Snyder said the FOP “will be pursuing intervention at the Statehouse and sanctions” for what he characterized as “failed prosecutorial theater.” He did not give further details about what that intervention might entail.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy police union leader Rick Snyder takes swipe at prosecutor Ryan Mears

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