Hey folks.  Normally I don’t delete comments from my blog because I believe in free speech and open dialogue.  However, I don’t believe in abuse.  Therefore, the poster heretofore known as “dirty blues” is banned from Indiana Barrister.

I don’t like banning people, but there is only so much nonsense I will put up with.  In addition, his writing is pretty recognizable so if he tries to post under another name, I think we can catch it.

Like I said, I don’t like doing this but a blogger’s gotta do what a blogger’s gotta do.

Although I had some legal work to do Tuesday, I did watch the funeral for Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer David Moore.   Moore was killed last Sunday in while conducting a traffic stop.  Thomas Hardy has been charged in the murder.  And as I watched the funeral, one thought kept coming back to me.  This entire ordeal has been a turning point for the city.

We all know that last year was not one of IMPD’s finest;  David Bisard, Brandon Johnson, the constant back and forth between the Fraternal Order of Police and the Public Safety Director, the political opportunist organization known as the Baptist Ministers Alliance.   While crime was down overall, there was this growing perception that things were getting out of control.

However, with David Moore’s death, I think the city of Indianapolis got a wake-up call.   We got a stark reminder that police work is very dangerous business.   We learned the hard way that everyday police officers their lives on the line when they leave and go keep our streets safe.  We learned there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop.  And there are some people out there with political agendas who don’t like law enforcement.

But I think the most important thing we’ve learned following the death of Officer Moore is something we’ve known all the time.  IMPD is a lot more like  David Moore than David Bisard.   David Moore believed in serving and protecting the public; even in death he saved lives via organ donation.    The 95% of law enforcement officers in this town go to work everyday with their primary objective being to protect us from the bad guys.  As stated at Officer Moore’s funeral, “evil is the enemy”.   And there are a lot of evil people in this world.  They will shoot officers.  They will shoot each other and will have no regard for the rest of us.

There are a lot of evil people in this world.  Luckily, there are a lot of good officers, unfortunately, with the loss of David Moore, their ranks have been reduced by one.

With today being the funeral of David Moore, Indiana Barrister will be silent.  You can stream the funeral services here courtesy of RTV 6 at 10 a.m.  We will return tomorrow.

A lot of us will be focusing on the funeral of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer David Moore this week; however there are some other items on the radar screen that will be worth paying attention to.   I’ll likely blog more about them on Wednesday, but here’s a quick preview.

The Ten-Point Coalition, City of Indianapolis and a number of other neighborhood and community organizations are expected to hold a news conference this morning announcing steps to crack down on violence and the illegal possession of handguns.  I’ve spoken to a number of organizers about recent events in Indianapolis and they say it’s time for the community to have some frank and harsh discussions about how to crackdown on violence.

The State Chamber of Commerce is expected to release a poll today showing wide support across Indiana for “right to work” legislation.   Under “right to work” an individual cannot be compelled to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment.  The Chamber has been pushing “right to work” as part of its legislative agenda, saying it will create jobs.  Unions oppose it saying it will depress wages and harm workers.  The Governor’s Office has been cool to the idea.

Expect a contentious hearing this week on immigration reform.  Republican Sate Senator Mike Delph’s immigration bill is expected to get  a hearing this week and security at the Statehouse is expected to be tight.  Delph’s bill would parallel Arizona’s immigration law.  Senate Pro Tempore David Long told the media late last week that while he opposes illegal immigration he wants a bill that will be fair to businesses.  He says the legislation will likely come down do whether an employer should be fined if they are found to have intentionally hired illegal immigrants or whether they should lose their license.  There is also the question as to whether Indiana should wait until the courts decide what to do with Arizona’s immigration law.

And finally, the Indiana House of Representatives is expected to take up two major bills this week; a ban on smoking in most public places and changing Indiana’s unemployment insurance law.   The smoking ban legislation would be similar to the Marion County model, which bans smoking in most places that allow minors.  The unemployment legislation would raise premiums for some employers while reducing benefits being paid out.  The effort is necessary to close nearly $2 billion owed to the federal government for unemployment.  In addition, new rates have to be set soon so lawmakers are working on a fast deadline.

As education reform moves through the Indiana General Assembly, I managed to obtain a copy of the State Teacher’s Union (ISTA) talking points on various school reform proposals.  It’s a pretty interesting read, to say the least.  Here are some of the highlights…

• The proposal would give Dr. Tony Bennett, Superintendent of Public Instruction, “dictatorial power” over the firing of teachers.
• Communities would lose the power to decide whether teachers are good or bad, that power would be given to “outsiders”.
• Administrators can’t be trusted. (They may have a point on that one).
• There are not enough qualified people to fill every teaching position in the state of Indiana.
• Competition amongst teachers will destroy collegiality.

The list goes on and on.  And if you don’t want to take my word for any of this, you can read the embedded document for yourself.  It’s right below.

I know there were a lot of political happenings Thursday but they will take a back seat today.  I’ve embedded the probable cause affidavit regarding the Thomas Hardy case.  Hardy has formally  been charged with the murder of David Moore.  I thought it was important to post it today.   Funeral arrangements have set for Tuesday morning for Conseco Fieldhouse at 11 a.m.

I went back and forth before deciding whether to use the above phrase as the title for this blog post.  But the more I thought about it, the more fitting I thought it would be.  I am talking about Dr. Eugene White, Superintendent of the school district that hopefully will one day formerly be known as Indianapolis Public Schools.

Like the character portrayed by Forrest Whittaker, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Dr. White has, as my grandfather would say, “has lost his natural mind”.   I’m not sure when it all began or what exactly it was that did it.  Was  it was taking a raise for suspect graduation rates?  Was it calling the Governor a liar a few years back?  It could have been only giving school board members a summary of the budget and refusing to provide them with a list of line-by-line expenditures?  Or maybe it was his latest foray into the realm of educational insanity by moving staff from one failing school in hopes to avoid a state takeover of another failing school and in the process giving his son a $14,000 raise?  And when he was questioned about it by the school board, he threatened to quit.  I really wish Dr. White wouldn’t make threats that he doesn’t intend to keep.

The sad part about Dr. White is when he originally came to IPS, there were high hopes that he would help move the school district into the 21^st century.  Dr. White is moving the district into the 21^st Century; unfortunately it’s a century that ends in B.C.   I’m not sure whether he hit his head on something or if it was the toxic chemicals in his jewelry that impacted his brain.  But Dr. White is the poster child for what is wrong with traditional public education in this state.

I honestly wish he would quit and the IPS school board would look at hiring someone from outside the District to take it over.  However, at the rate IPS is going, the board won’t need to hire a new Superintendent because there won’t be any school district left because the schools will have been taken over by the State of Indiana.

By the way, Idi Amin eventually had to flee Uganda after the natives got tired of his nonsense.  He eventually fled to Libya and Saudi Arabia.  Dr. White, I hear Tripoli is lovely this time of year.

David Moore was pronounced dead this morning at 6:18.  Our prayers are with his family.

I used to be in favor of the death penalty but over time my opinion changed.  Not because I didn’t think some people weren’t bad actors, but simply because I did not think it was a deterrent to crime.  However, in the wake of what happened to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer David Moore, I am making an exception in this case.

You are likely aware that Moore is not expected to recover from the injuries he received when he was shot several times reportedly by 60-year old Thomas Hardy.  Moore’s family is making arrangements to donate his organs.  Meanwhile, as you can see in this clip from RTV 6, Hardy showed no contrition whatsoever.

That’s fine.  Mr. Hardy should be arraigned, given due process at trial and if he is found guilty, strap him in the char and send him on to the next world.  I know it won’t bring Officer Moore back, but it will stop Hardy from ever committing another crime.  Let’s be honest, some people are just evil and have reneged on their membership to the human race and it’s time for their privileges to be revoked.  You may say the death penalty is wrong and two wrongs don’t make a right, but it sure as hell makes it even.

This may not be a very Christian thing to say, but that’s fine because I’m not a Christian.  And I think the world would be a better place if Thomas Hardy wasn’t in it, because it definitely will be a sadder place once David Moore is gone.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about two incidents this past weekend in Indianapolis, the shooting of Officer David Moore and the two teens shot near Circle Center Mall.   I’ve been asking myself why these types of events happen?  The easy answer of course is that there are bad people in this world who do bad things.   But to a certain degree, I think the “community” bears some responsibility for this as well.

Who is the “community”?  These are the people who live in high crime areas and won’t step up and take some control of their neighborhoods.  These are the people who don’t raise their children properly.  These are people who watch a police officer get shot and instead of calling  9-1-1, sit and watch.  These are the people who take to the airwaves and newspapers and berate law enforcement on a regular basis and then wonder why relations are bad.  That is the “community”.

This “community” that complains about crime, but won’t cooperate with law enforcement to take the bad guys off the street.  This is the “community” that complains about schools, but won’t do anything to advance their own child’s education.  This is the same “community” whose neighborhoods stay in perpetual disrepair and keep electing the same people who were incapable of fixing the problem the first time they went into office.  And this is the same “community” whose clergy is more concerned about lining their own pockets than lining the streets with hope and opportunity.

When I look at this “community” I’m really not surprised at what happens.  Unfortunately because of the actions and sometimes, inaction, of this “community” the rest of us have to deal with them to because the “community’s” problems tend to creep into our own.