As we get ready to close down the year, there has been a lot of talk about Indianapolis’ homicide rate and what exactly is that number?   Well, like most things, the number you get depends on who you ask? The number a lot of people like to cite is 117.  That number comes from the [...]

Are you a good cop?  Are one of the 90-plus percent of the men and women of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department who do their jobs everyday with no issues?  Are you the officer who used his body as a human shield when the gunfire started this past summer during Expo weekend?    Are you the [...]

A report by the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety on the David Bisard crash that killed a motorcyclist this summer and injured two others shows a breakdown in police rules and  procedure but no conspiracy or intentional cover-up. The 47-page document is based on interviews with nearly 70 witnesses from all stages in the incident; [...]

As someone who spends a lot of time in downtown Indianapolis, there’s nothing more disturbing and frightening than listening to a report about someone on the roof of a parking garage firing shots. Luckily, no one on the street was injured.  Unfortunately the entire incident was the end result of a murder-suicide.  However, one thing [...]

With recent problems plaguing the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the City-County is stepping into fray.  Council President Ryan Vaughn and Public Safety Committee Chairman Ben Hunter are offering up a proposal they say will bring changes to the department that are 20 years in the making. The Councilors say their law enforcement integrity professional proposal [...]

My brothers and sisters in the media today are all writing about the the calls for the public safety director, Frank Straub,  to step down.  The calls to resign center around recent scandals involving the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.   Now some of you are going to say, “Abdul, you’re on that public safety advisory board [...]

As the City gets ready to meet next week with a group of local pastors to talk about building better relations between police and certain segments of the community, they may want to look at addressing false allegations of excessive force. Already in the wake of the Brandon Johnson case word of false accusations have [...]

Between Al Sharpton coming to town tonight to speak about the Brandon Johnson case and the “March for Peace” slated for tomorrow around the City-County building, I must take a moment to give credit where credit is due.  Some people in this town believe there was an injustice and so they’re stepping up and taking [...]

Here is the audio from today’s news conference concerning the allegations of police brutality and IMPD.   Public Safety Director Frank Straub and IMPD Chief Paul Ciesielski addressed the media and recommended the firing of Officer Jerry Piland for excessive force against Brandon Johnson.  There’s also reaction from the FOP.  Each segment is about 8 [...]

As IMPD gets ready to release its findings on the alleged use of excessive force against Brandon Johnson, I thought it would be interesting to share some data on police complaints and assaults against officers. Using the Department’s 2008 Annual Report as a starting point there were more than 180 complaints filed  IMPD officers in [...]