• Taylor, 60, is retiring from IMPD after a 38-year career in law enforcement
• Taylor was IMPD chief from 2020 to 2024.

A red light, a speeding ticket, and a persistent cop.

That’s what former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Randal Taylor says led him to a career in law enforcement. Taylor, who grew up in Illinois, said he ran a red light in Champagne and was pulled over by an officer who would leave a lasting impact.

“His name was Richard Atkins,” said Taylor, now commander of IMPD’s Victim Services Unit. “He gave me a ticket and everything. At that time, I was working in a White Hen Pantry, and he would come in and just start talking to me and ask me about a career in law enforcement. I reminded him that he gave me a ticket, and he’d be like, ‘Well, did you learn a lesson from it?’”

That one question led Taylor to 38 years in law enforcement, including 32 years in Indianapolis. He served as IMPD chief from 2020 to 2024, leading the department during a global pandemic and civil unrest against police brutality after the killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin.

He stepped down to make way for the current chief, Christopher Bailey, and has been a commander for the last year. Now Taylor is set to retire on June 16.

‘I made some mistakes:’ A pandemic, protests and police relations

Since stepping down as chief, Taylor’s role within the department included working with the chaplain’s office, Crime Stoppers, victim assistants, and the non-fatal shooting advocates. They’d report to him with the effort of ensuring all victims were resourced with support and help.

“I still wanted to make sure that I was serving people,” Taylor said. “Some communication between family members and detectives isn’t always where you want it to be, so I try to make sure that we do what we can. Sometimes we can’t give them the answers that they want, but we at least make sure they’re aware that we’re here for them.”

When he reflects on his time as chief, Taylor said he always strived to do what’s right and fair for both the community and members of the department.

“I won’t say I was perfect,” Taylor told IndyStar.

Before the world was reacting to George Floyd’s death, Indianapolis was dealing with its own officer-involved shooting that caused community outcry. Dreasjon Reed, 21, was fatally shot by Officer DeJoure Mercer during a foot pursuit in May 2020.

Taylor said, “I made some mistakes” when it came to Reed’s case, which he regrets.

“I was still new to the chief thing, you know,” Taylor said. “People were telling me, ‘You just need to be quiet, don’t talk about it,’ and all this kind of stuff. Well, the problem with that was the public started filling in their own narrative, and they were wrong in that narrative.”

Taylor felt that if he had gotten ahead of the case with facts first, a false narrative surrounding Reed’s shooting wouldn’t have stuck with people’s already mistrust of the police.

Dreasjon Reed shooting: What we know about the Indianapolis police shooting

“It’s unfortunate that young man lost his life, but one of the things I was glad that I did was encourage the state police to handle that investigation. ‘Cause I, myself, and Deputy Chief (Kendale) Adams were initially in the pursuit.”

And amongst the national outcry on police brutality, Taylor remembers being on Luger Plaza with protesters during protests downtown.

“‘Cause I didn’t like what I saw either,” Taylor said. “I’ve seen a lot of things, good and bad, in law enforcement.”

He said his decision to step down as chief wasn’t a direct result of criticism heard from community members.

“No one forced me out. It’s something I prayed about for a long time, and so it just so happened to fall close to their criticisms,” Taylor said.

Policies implemented during Taylor’s tenure

Like many departments across the United States, IMPD implemented body-worn cameras in 2020, and more than 1,400 body-worn cameras have been distributed and equipped to the department’s officers. In 2020, the department began publicly releasing critical incident videos involving any use of force by officers.

Before beginning to release these videos, Taylor met with a community group that reviewed and provided feedback on the videos and the process for developing them.

The Use of Force Review Board reviews officers’ use of force and then determines whether their actions violated IMPD policies. This begins once prosecutors and police have completed the criminal investigation of an incident. Taylor, with the input from the community, rewrote the Use of Force policy to include provisions guiding officers’ proportionate use of force, the duty to intervene, a requirement to provide medical aid, and strictly prohibiting the use of chokeholds.

He also prohibited the use of no-knock search warrants after Breanna Taylor was shot and killed by Officer Jonathan Mattingly during a raid on her home in Louisville, Kentucky, in March 2020.

Under Taylor’s leadership, IMPD’s Use of Force Board and General Orders Boards were created. The General Orders Board examines police policies and considers possible changes. Both have a majority civilian representation.

Taylor’s thoughts on current IMPD Chief Chris Bailey

Taylor, who worked as assistant chief under two different chiefs before him, said that Bailey was always in the mix.

“You know, Chris and I go way back,” Taylor said. “He’s different from me. I, myself, am more of a people person. Not saying that he’s not, but some people have just said earlier today, they thought I was the right man for the job at that particular time. I’d say the same thing about Bailey now.”

So, what’s next for the former chief?

Taylor said he originally had no desire to climb the ranks to become a chief. He only wanted to be a detective. Taylor and his wife moved to Indianapolis in 1993, and he worked across units, including undercover narcotics, child abuse, internal affairs, and financial crimes.

The Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office were separate agencies at that time.

He was a sergeant and lieutenant captain before the departments merged in 2007, and from there, he rose through the ranks before the mayor offered him the position of chief.

Unsurprisingly, Taylor said he still wants to serve the community in some capacity, whether with the police department or a sheriff’s office.

The former chief, who turned 60 this year, said outside of policing, he’s into motorcycles. He’s also looking forward to spending more time with his family, including his two sons and daughter.

Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar.com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.