DEMOTTE, Ind — Rhyker Earl died in handcuffs on Sept. 8 in DeMotte, Indiana. Lawyers for his family said Earl was begging for his life before he died. The Jasper County Sheriff said it was Earl's family who were begging, trying to get him to calm down.
Demotte is about two hours northwest of Indianapolis, and an hour southeast from Chicago. The town had a population of around 4,000 in 2020.
Now national civil rights lawyer Ben Crump has joined the legal fight, accusing police of excessive force. The Jasper County Sheriff says Crump and co-counsel Stephen Wagner are gaslighting their small community.
Both the family and law enforcement agree that Earl was having a medical emergency when police and medics were called to his home.
A statement from the family's lawyers says that Earl had a medical condition that made him prone to seizures. They said he had a severe one around 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 10.
They said that when police and EMTs arrived, Earl was confused and disoriented, a common condition after seizures called "postictal seizure state."
A statement from the Jasper County Sheriff's Department states that Earl was "demonstrating mental difficulties and significant physical resistance to the medical personnel on the scene."
According to a statement from Wagner, Earl fell onto an officer while trying to put on shorts before going to the hospital. Wagner said an officer "became aggressive, yelling, 'you don't treat law enforcement that way.'"
Both sides agree that Earl was handcuffed. Lawyers for his family said "officers stayed on top of Rhyker for more than 15 minutes, with his face in a pillow."
The sheriff said body cameras on the deputies recorded Earl "forcefully banging his head on the floor. Deputies immediately asked the family for a pillow and placed it under his head to prevent Mr. Earl from injuring himself."
Lawyers for the family said "Rhyker begged for his life and screamed he couldn't breathe. His please, and those of his aunt and grandmother, were ignored."
But according to a statement from the sheriff, "multiple family members pleaded with (Earl) to remain calm and attempted to ensure him that deputies and medical personnel were there to help him."
Indiana State Police is investigating Earl's death and have asked for the public's patience while they are working.
Seizures and first responders
Earl is not the first person to run into conflict with law enforcement after a seizure. The Epilepsy Foundation has the Jeanne A Carpenter Epilepsy Legal Defense Fund to help people with epilepsy with legal issues. Many of them relate to what happens after a seizure.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, "Not everyone who experiences a seizure goes through the (postictal) state, but many people do."
"During this period a person is easily frightened, upset and unable to communicate effectively and may become belligerent or aggressive, especially when approached, as he or she may perceive this as a threat.
A cardinal rule in the handling of any seizure is that the person should not be restrained in any way, unless it is essential for his personal safety or the safety of others. Restraint of persons during or soon after a seizure may exacerbate or precipitate combativeness – the opposite of the intended result. As one's resistance to restraint increases, the threat to his life similarly increases. Restraining someone face-down and/or with his arms restricted behind his back is especially dangerous."
In April of 2024 a California man sued the Central Marin Police Authority after he was shocked by a police officer during a seizure in his home. His attorney's uploaded body camera video of the incident to their website.
The Epilepsy Foundation also says "persons who have epilepsy, and a variety of other disabilities, are frequently inappropriately arrested and jailed because police officers have not received proper training in the recognition of and aid for seizures."