IMPD secures few public comments in meeting on police officer discipline changes

The Indianapolis Police Merit Board met Tuesday night to get community input on proposed changes to how police are disciplined. However, only two community members gave comments.

The changes would implement a new discipline matrix for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, which outlines what an officer’s discipline should be if they violate policy. Deputy Chief Kendale Adams said the new matrix would take more factors into consideration and allow for more discipline options, including counseling.

The two community members who spoke at Tuesday’s hearing were Indianapolis City-County Councillor Ethan Evans (D-District 4) and Samantha Douglas, a member of the Far Eastside Community Council.

Both said they wish there had been more notice of the meeting so they had more time to review the proposed changes and involve more community members. The meeting was publicly announced last Friday. It was not live-streamed.

“We didn’t know about it, I found out yesterday on the evening news. I just wanted to come to learn what’s going on, what changes are they requesting,” Douglas said. “The community needs to know about these kinds of public hearings so that we can effectively respond.”

The proposed changes can be found here.

No further public input hearings have been announced. The board will accept written public comments via email before they vote on the proposal early next year. Comments can be emailed to IMPD_Planning@indy.gov.