No signs of trauma found in death of Indiana man Rhyker Earl, Lake County coroner says

JASPER COUNTY, Ind. (WLS) — A coroner’s autopsy found no signs of trauma after an Indiana man died while handcuffed last September.

The video in this story is from an earlier report

The Lake County Coroner’s Office said Wednesday that Rhyker Earl, 26, died due to cardiovascular disease and ruled the manner of death as natural.

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The 26-year-old father of two died last September after an encounter with deputies and paramedics at his home.

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office released the body camera footage of Earl’s encounter with deputies who responded to his DeMotte home after he suffered what his family said was his third seizure of the day. Earl had epilepsy.

READ MORE | Police release bodycam video of incident that led to death of Indiana man after he was handcuffed

Deputies were called in as paramedics had difficulty controlling him.

Minutes after the encounter, officers restrained Earl on the ground and asked him to remain calm as he pleaded for his life in front of his family.

Respondents administered several injections of sedatives. Ultimately, Earl lost consciousness and paramedics performed CPR before taking him to the hospital. He died two days later.

The family has hired civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who said Earl’s death was the result of a dereliction of duty to a man who was in the middle of a medical emergency.