News Scrap

The family of 26-year-old Rhyker Earl, a father from Indiana, is reeling in shock after a call for help turned fatal.

On September 8th, 2024, Earl suffered two seizures, prompting his grandmother, Connie Widner, to make a desperate 911 call. Widner was seeking emergency personnel to transport him to a hospital. However, police intervened first and violently wrestled him to the floor of his home while injecting him with substances believed to be sedatives. Moments later, he stopped breathing without ever receiving the aid he needed. While the body cam footage does show him appearing to be resisting officers, his family believes he was disoriented from the seizures.

“I called 911 thinking they were going to come help him,” Widner shared.

On September 23rd, the family gathered in DeMotte, Earl’s hometown, to demand transparency from local authorities. They called upon the Jasper County Sheriff to release body camera footage from that fateful night, believing the public has a right to understand what transpired. The sheriff’s office complied shortly after. Both the family and the police have acknowledged that while Earl was handcuffed on the floor, he lost consciousness. However, the family wants to know if the authorities contributed to his death in any way.

Miracle Glawinski, Rhyker’s aunt, recalled the horrifying experience that night and pleaded with first responders to assist.

“He’s blue. Take his pulse; he’s blue. Please do something,” she pleaded, though despite her desperate appeals, first responders could not find a pulse, and after two days in intensive care, Rhyker was pronounced dead.

“Rhyker fell unconscious that night and never woke up again,” shared civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the family. As the Indiana State Police conduct their investigation, they have asked for patience, but the family’s pain and their relentless search for justice continue to intensify.