Family holds vigil after incident that led to Indiana man's death after being handcuffed

JASPER COUNTY, Ind. (WLS) -- Dozens of people, honoring Rhyker Earl just days after body camera video was released, showing him being restrained by first responders and pleading for help.

The Indiana man died earlier this month after he was handcuffed inside of his home.

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His family says the response could have and should have gone differently.

One of the last voices to speak with Rhyker Earl, his grandmother Sharon Krause-Earl, led a prayer Sunday night in his memory.

"Our loved one, Rhyker Ryan Earl, has been called home to you," Krause-Earl said.

She was one of dozens who gathered in Rennsalaer, Indiana with hugs and tears, remembering the father of two just days after the Jasper County Sheriff's Office released body camera footage of his final moments alive.

READ MORE | Police release bodycam video of incident that led to Indiana man's death after being handcuffed

Earlier this month deputies responded to Earl's home in DeMotte after he suffered a seizure. Minutes into the encounter, deputies restrained him on the ground while asking for him to remain calm as he pleaded for his life in front of his family.

Video then shows one of several shots of sedatives being administered. The 26-year-old then went unconscious.

He died at the hospital days later.

"Countless steps on September 8th, 2024, could have and should have went very differently!" his aunt, Miracle Gawlinski, said.

His aunt described the deputy takedown as unjust while reading a written statement aloud.

"The numbness we feel is overwhelming," Gawlinski said. "There is anger and rage that wants justice... "For many of us, perhaps most of us, there is an awakening sense that the personal helplessness that the distant terror we read about in the daily paper can now become terror that we experience in our own homes."

The Jasper County Sheriff's Office disputes some of the family's claims as Indiana State Police investigate.

The family says they plan to speak more during a press conference Monday morning alongside civil rights attorney Ben Crump.