



The IMPD is a baby as far as law enforcement agencies are concerned. It has only been in existence a short time, a merger of the former Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Department. It's rank and file are, for the most part, the same men and women that were patrolling the streets of Indianapolis and Marion County for several years but it's management and command structure are where the changes really are. If the IMPD is truly being led by example, the people of Indianapolis are in a hell of a lot of trouble.



The merger of the IMPD came from the Indianapolis Police Department and Marion County Sheriff's Department. The merger of the IMPD came from the Indianapolis Police Department and Marion County Sheriff's Department.

There are 90,000 Google entries under the subject of Indianapolis Police corruption. The roots of a tainted culture of malfeasance among police that dates back to 1974 when the Indianapolis Star did a series of articles uncovering officers involved in prostitution, both as paid "protectors" and nonpaying patrons. Police shakedowns of drug pushers and users are "a way of life" in the Indianapolis underworld. Some policemen regularly traffic in stolen goods according to the Star's 1974 report. Chiefs were fired and a former Secret Service agent was brought in by then Mayor Richard Lugar to clean up the IPD. I suspect they may have rooted out some of the rogue cops but it is likely that several decided to lay low and wait out the scrutiny. It wouldn't be long before the IPD was under investigation...again.



On July 25, 1995, Danny Sales was arrested by a police sergeant and allegedly beaten. The storm that's swirling around the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department seems so severe at times, it's easy to lose fact that the allegations of corruption involve, at this point, only a handful of officers mostly at the management level. Is it, in fact, to much to ask for leadership by example? If that is our expectation, can the IMPD be fixed or is it doomed to continue it's trek of public disgust and mistrust?The IMPD is a baby as far as law enforcement agencies are concerned. It has only been in existence a short time, a merger of the former Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff's Department. It's rank and file are, for the most part, the same men and women that were patrolling the streets of Indianapolis and Marion County for several years but it's management and command structure are where the changes really are. If the IMPD is truly being led by example, the people of Indianapolis are in a hell of a lot of trouble.There are 90,000 Google entries under the subject of Indianapolis Police corruption. The roots of a tainted culture of malfeasance among police that dates back to 1974 when the Indianapolis Star did a series of articles uncovering officers involved in prostitution, both as paid "protectors" and nonpaying patrons. Police shakedowns of drug pushers and users are "a way of life" in the Indianapolis underworld. Some policemen regularly traffic in stolen goods according to the Star's 1974 report. Chiefs were fired and a former Secret Service agent was brought in by then Mayor Richard Lugar to clean up the IPD. I suspect they may have rooted out some of the rogue cops but it is likely that several decided to lay low and wait out the scrutiny. It wouldn't be long before the IPD was under investigation...again.On July 25, 1995, Danny Sales was arrested by a police sergeant and allegedly beaten.

The next day, Sales went to file a complaint at the North District police station, but was dissatisfied with the officers' response so he started a protest in front of the station at 42nd Street and College Avenue. He was joined by approximately one hundred protesters, and a similar number of police officers responded and attempted to disperse them, using tear gas, K-9 (police dog) units, and armored riot vehicles. The confrontation soon turned violent, with protesters and others looting stores and throwing bricks, rocks and pieces of concrete. Mayor Stephen Goldsmithtermed the melee a "mini-riot."

Unrest continued for days, at differing levels, with twenty-seven arrested for disorderly conduct; there were also injuries to those pelted with debris.

The FBI reportedly began investigating the Sales altercation a few days later, after the chief requested their assistance. Although Sales did not immediately file a formal complaint with city agencies or with police monitoring groups, friends claimed that he was handcuffed and then beaten by "jump-out boys," described by the friends as officers who jump out of cars and chase black youths who are acting "suspiciously."

Mayor Goldsmith, toward the end of the disturbances, said, "People want officers to be more respectful to those who aren't involved in crime. We want to encourage that....[T]he police aren't completely perfect." Police Chief James Toler resigned as chief soon thereafter, reportedly telling a community leader that his "hands were tied" in dealing with problem officers. The fact that Sales's allegation led to such turmoil seemed to reveal a reservoir of distrust and anger in the minority community toward police.





Just over a year later, nine apparently intoxicated off-duty officers started fights and yelled racial epithets, beat passers-by, and harassed women in a busy downtown neighborhood on August 27, 1996; at least one officer reportedly pulled his gun on the citizens during the melee. The incident received national media attention,leading Police Chief Donald Christ to step down "in the best interest of the department as well as the city."

More than a dozen officers who were present during the altercations were reassigned to desk duty. Four were subsequently indicted on battery, disorderly conduct and other charges relating to the incident, and three others were found to have violated department rules. On October 25, 1997, the four officers' trial ended with a hung jury, and prosecutors indicated they would retry the case. Instead, a deal was struck and two of the officers resigned with some back pay (with officials explaining that they had been suspended without pay beyond the six-month limit and were eligible for back pay) while two others remained on the force. As part of the deal, the officers acknowledged their disorderly conduct and received counseling but no jail time; one of the officers still faced felony charges relating to this and another incident.









Now, cops in Indianapolis are at the center, again, of an FBI investigation that centers around there investigation of one of there own. Officer David Bisard was allegedly driving his police car at 70 miles an hour with a BAC of .19 when he slammed into a group of stopped motorcyclists killing one and critically injuring two others. The investigation was so inept that DUI charges against Bisard were thrown out. Last week, surveillance devices were discovered in the office of an IMPD deputy chief who has been involved in an on-site altercation with an Indiana State Trooper reportedly over a personal matter involving one of the officer's wives.





Regardless of the circumstances surrounding lawlessness by police officers in Indiana, it seems the Fraternal Order of Police is first in line to defend the actions, usually well before all the facts are known. On the other side are disgruntled citizens who hate the police and will look for any opportunity to take them down. In the middle are the rest of us and the political leaders we elect whose hands are frequently tied by civil service laws passed to protect those who wear the badge. Policies were clearly broken in the IMPD regarding the Bisard case yet revelations have been slow in coming and reaction by IMPD management is questionable at best.







I doubt seriously that corruption has ever been rooted from the Indianapolis Police Department and the problems today in the IMPD are carry-overs, at least in part, from that agency. There is also the matter of the merger between agencies. Indiana police officers frequently see Sheriff's deputies as "lesser or inadequate" in function largely based on historical differences and turf wars. The Indianapolis merger has brought with it a lot of finger pointing at which elements are more and less professional. This merger which forced officers from the IPD and MCSD to work side by side for public safety and order and likely has a significant number of officers, some of whom are in management positions, we are simply riding time to retire. There is no doubt that a lot of them long for the good ole days before the merger.



The problem in Indianapolis is also one of perception. The public perceives this agency as broken and in need of repair. Those inside law enforcement and observers on the outside suggest this will be more difficult to achieve with civil service laws what they are. A retired Indianapolis Police officer said "you can demote the bad apples all you want, but it will not rid this department of the bad attitudes." In the end, that may be the reality of the IMPD. While it might be possible to prosecute some for wrong doing, fire a couple of more, it will never be possible to rid this department of the elements that have likely been destroying it for decades.