Indianapolis FOP votes ‘no confidence’ in Marion County prosecutor, courts system

The Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police announced Monday that the union's membership voted to have “no confidence” in the Marion County prosecutor and the courts system.

The vote took place last week, and the FOP says it comes amid recent incidents that have left citizens and Central Indiana police officers dead or seriously injured.

A spokesperson for Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said the office has no comment on the vote at this time. Mears is up for re-election in November.

The FOP pointed to several instances, inclyding in February, when Indianapolis police officer Thomas Mangan was allegedly shot in the throat by a man who had recently been bailed out of jail. Mangan survived the incident.

More recently, Elwood police officer Noah Shahnavaz was allegedly shot and killed by a suspect who the FOP said was previously convicted of shooting at police and was released following a modified sentence.

The Indianapolis Bar Association said in a statement earlier this month that the defendant in Shahnavaz's case did not receive a modified or lenient sentence. The statement also said that FOP President Rick Snyder's comments about the case are incorrect.

"Mr. Snyder’s attempt to draw a line between Officer Shahnavaz’s tragic death and the Defendant’s Marion County conviction is not only inaccurate, it is dangerous," the statement reads in part. 

The FOP announced this summer that the union endorsed Republican Cyndi Carrasco in the race for Marion County prosecutor. Following that announcement, Mears said in a statement that he did not seek the endorsement because the two organizations should be independent of each other.

The FOP membership includes officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Office and several other Marion County law enforcement agencies including those in Beech Grove, Speedway and Southport.