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| NEWS > 21 August 2008 |
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Indianapolis Star - United Sta
21 August 2008
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Indianapolis Metropolitan Poli
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2 more IMPD officers face disc
Two more Indianapolis police officers are in trouble after internal investigations, police said Wednesday.
Officer Christopher Poindexter, 34, was arrested Aug. 14 after, police say, he filed a false report to cover up an accident in which his fiancee sideswiped a vehicle while driving his department-issued cruiser.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Michael Spears also suspended and is seeking to fire 10-year veteran James Ingalls amid allegations that Ingalls had sex with a prostitute while on duty.
The latest actions come two days after the suspension of an Indianapolis police officer for policy violations and weeks after a series of criminal misconduct allegations involving seven IMPD officers since April.
That makes 10 officers either arrested, jailed or under investigation in the past four months, prompting some local leaders and activists to call for greater scrutiny within the department.
"There's got to be more accountability and better screening," said Angela Mansfield, a Democratic city-county councilwoman who represents District 2 on the Northwestside. "There have just been too many incidents."
The incidents follow Monday's suspension of officer Anthony Smith, who Spears said is accused of engaging in "inappropriate conduct" with a woman in his patrol car Friday.
Spears refused to elaborate on Smith's case Wednesday, saying Marion County prosecutors are investigating and could file criminal charges.
All three officers have been suspended without pay, and their dismissal has been recommended to the IMPD Merit Board.
"I hope by taking extremely quick action that we're sending a message to our officers and to the citizens of our city that this conduct will not be tolerated," Spears said.
But some experts say more needs to be done to avoid future instances of misconduct that erode public trust.
"I'm surprised councilors haven't called for some kind of investigation and called the chief on the carpet and asked what the heck is going on," said Gerald Frazier, president of Citizens Alert, a Chicago-based police watchdog group. "I don't think it would be unreasonable to think the department may have a discipline problem."
Recent revelations of alleged misconduct began in April when former officer Noble Duke pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to tipping off a drug suspect to a 2007 raid.
On June 16, the U.S. attorney's office accused narcotics Detectives Robert B. Long and Jason P. Edwards and officer James D. Davis of skimming drugs and money and stealing from drug dealers.
Eleven days later, narcotics Detective Jason S. Barber was charged with selling a handgun to a convicted burglar serving as a drug informant. The following week, Patrolman Jeremy Lee was charged with aiding in promoting prostitution.
Last week, George Leon Benjamin, a respected robbery detective, retired the same day prosecutors charged him with a felony and five misdemeanors in connection with two alcohol-related crashes involving his department-issued cars.
The string of incidents has raised concerns among some Marion County leaders and residents, who say the events could destroy confidence in the police force at a time when it's desperately needed. Police officers and nonviolence advocates have been calling on citizens to confide in police to help combat a violent crime wave this summer.
"If you're going to put a burden on the public, the public has got to trust you," said Pat Andrews, vice president of the Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations. "It's a violation of virtually everything they're supposed to be fighting."
In Ingalls' case, the Southwest District officer was suspended Monday after he was accused of soliciting a prostitute while on duty. Ingalls has not been arrested, but Spears said the investigation is continuing.
Poindexter, also assigned to the Southwest District and with the department since 2005, is accused of fabricating a story that his parked squad car was damaged by a hit-and-run driver May 5.
The car was damaged the day before when Poindexter's fiancee, Kelli Ball, collided with a vehicle on Ind. 37 near West Epler Avenue, according to records.
Ball, a civilian Police Department employee since 2003, drove away. Poindexter was sitting in the passenger seat.
In light of so many allegations, Dan Handelman, an activist with the Portland-based police accountability group Cop Watch, said he would call for a review of the entire system of screening, training and hiring.
Handelman said residents need to "get organized and demand that this kind of thing stop."
The Rev. Charles Harrison said he and other members of the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition, a faith-based nonviolence group, have met with Spears and other IMPD leaders to address their concerns about officer accountability. Harrison said it's important that leaders are forthcoming with information to avoid the perception that police are covering up incidents.
"I think they're really trying to do a better job in letting the community know what's going on," he said.
Harrison added that more supervision of officers is needed.
Last month, Spears and other IMPD officials announced policy changes aimed at rebuilding the public trust after recent arrests.
The "integrity plan" increases supervision, tightens oversight of evidence collection, reinstates widespread polygraph testing of officers, creates a department recruiter position and institutes mandatory performance evaluations.
Spears said the new policies are being reviewed and will take several months to implement.
Andrews, the neighborhood leader, said it's important to move as quickly as possible so the situation doesn't get worse.
"You can't just pretend that you don't have bad apples because you say you don't want bad apples," Andrews said. "If problems continue to be exposed, they've got a far more serious issue on their hands."
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