UPDATE FROM JASPER COUNTY SHERIFF WILLIAMSON TO THE COMMUNITY REGARDING THE DEATH OF RHYKER EARL
On September 8, 2024, Jasper Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to the home of 26-year-old Rhyker Earl to assist EMTs from Keener Township Emergency Medical Services. Mr. Earl was suffering a medical emergency and demonstrating mental difficulties and significant physical resistance to the medical personnel on the scene.
Deputies placed Mr. Earl in handcuffs for his safety and that of the medical providers. Mr. Earl was in an excited state and did not respond to pleas from deputies or his family to remain calm. Sadly, Mr. Earl ultimately became unresponsive, was taken to the hospital, and later passed away.
“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 stated.
Administration has reviewed the body-worn cameras of multiple deputies at the scene that evening and would like to address a couple false or misleading claims from the attorney’s press release:
“Officers stayed on top of Rhyker for more than 15 minutes, with his face in a pillow.”
In the body-worn camera video, Mr. Earl is seen 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. His head was lying on the pillow; his breathing was not restricted.
In addition, the video clearly shows deputies were restraining Mr. Earl by his legs, arms, 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.”
“His pleas, and those of his aunt and grandmother, were ignored.”
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.
The Indiana State Police are independently investigating this incident. Jasper County intends to release the body-worn camera video once the investigative agency has cleared them to do so.
