From [HERE] Three Florida police officers were charged with manslaughter in the death of a man who was subdued with a stun gun last fall, a state attorney announced Tuesday.

A grand jury in Okaloosa County indicted Crestview police officers Brandon Hardaway, William Johns and Evan Reynolds in the death of Calvin Wilks Jr., 40, who died in October the day after an encounter with police, State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden said in a news release.

The indictments will now be referred to Madden, state attorney for the 1st Judicial Circuit of Florida, to prosecute the cases. The release said Madden was prohibited from commenting on evidence presented to the grand jury.

The Crestview Police Department issued a news release saying the officers were suspended pending the outcome of the criminal case. The department also rereleased its original news release after Wilks’ death, which described him as combative.

On the night of the incident, police responded at about 2:45 a.m. to a home at 300 Hospital Drive. A caller had reported hearing a person screaming “stop, please stop,” according to police.

When officers arrived at the address given by the caller, Wilks answered the door. Officers say Wilks eventually grew combative and resisted arrest by pulling away and kicking the officers, according to the officers.

Wilks was then shot with a stun gun in the hip and restrained. Wilks became unresponsive while being assessed by EMS, police reports noted, and he was taken to the North Okaloosa Medical Center, where he died a day later.

The family challenged the police narrative and accused the police officers of watching Wilks struggle without rendering aid.

Maples said Wilks had been hit with stun guns at least five times inside of his own home and officers stood over him for some time before rendering aid.

"Too many lives have been lost to hate behind a badge. Protect and serve is laughable," she said. "My brother was one of those lives lost to hate."

In early November, family and friends of Calvin Wilks Jr. gathered on the steps of the Crestview Police Department to voice their concerns about the circumstances that led to his death on Oct. 15. They were joined by members of the NAACP and other community leaders.

Those in attendance questioned the police version of events leading up to Wilks' death and called for action.

“It was extremely painful to watch 45 minutes of body cam footage and witness those who had a duty to protect and serve our brother handle him with extreme anger,” Wilks’ sister, Camile Akins, said at the time.

“The hardest thing to watch was even when it became clearly evident that our brother, our loved one, was in serious need of medical assistance after having been tased numerous times, officers stood over his body and watched as his health quickly declined to the point where my brother stopped breathing,” she continued. “They never administered any aid while waiting for EMS to arrive.”

“I believe that the family has shown quite a bit of restraint in the last few weeks, and now they’re seeking the answers to what has happened to their son, their brother, their father, their friend,” NAACP representative Sabu Williams said at the November gathering. “The NAACP is determined to work with them all the way.”

Family members told those gathered in November that Wilks often went by the childhood nickname of “Whistle," and was “dearly loved” by his family and friends.

Akins called his loss unbearable. [MORE]

Prosecutions of police officers are rare. Police are given latitude to shoot people or use stun guns when the need arises. In Florida, the state Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that police officers have the same “stand your ground” defense as anyone else with regard to their duties.

But in 2021, the Florida Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a police officer convicted of manslaughter and attempted murder for the fatal shooting of a Black motorist whose car had broken down on an interstate off-ramp. The justices decided that they would not consider the appeal filed by fired Palm Beach Gardens officer Nouman Raja, who is serving a 25-year sentence for the 2015 killing of 31-year-old Corey Jones.