Indianapolis, IN
IMPD leaders seek community and officer input to form strategic plan
Indianapolis resident reflects on IMPD scenario training
Indianapolis resident Meloney Grasty discussed participating in scenario-based training Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, at the IMPD Training Academy.
After merging the Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to become IMPD in 2007, nearly 20 years later, Chief Chris Bailey said he doesn’t think the department created an identity with the merge. One of his goals is to have a clear vision and wants officers and community members alike to help.
He and other department leaders are asking for input from the community via a short, anonymous survey for a strategic plan for the future. The department has already reached out to its rank-and-file to get their thoughts.
“I want to speak directly to our officers. I’ve heard you say you feel unheard by your leadership,” Bailey said during a press conference Thursday. “This is your opportunity to speak up and have a voice. Your experience, ideas and frontline perspectives are essential to shaping the department’s future.”
Bailey said the department tried a strategic plan in 2019, but COVID impeded those objectives, and the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police changed the focus of the department with racial reform.
This strategic plan will serve as a guiding document for the next five years, helping IMPD remain adaptable and responsive to the evolving needs of the community and its officers, the department announced.
Officers, professional staff, and community input are essential
Sworn officers and professional staff will have multiple opportunities to contribute their ideas and perspectives on enhancing the department, according to a news release on the plan.
The anonymous surveyfor residents focused on getting feedback on what they want from their police department in the coming years. The survey can be found online at indy.gov/activity/impd-strategic-plan.
Collaborating with Taylor Advising on the process
To keep the approach neutral, the department has partnered with Taylor Advising, a local woman-owned business that specializes in expert consulting services with equity at the forefront. Taylor Advising will facilitate conversations with officers, professional staff, major stakeholders and community members to gather input.
As an objective voice, Taylor Advising will assist in compiling key insights to develop a plan that reflects the community, officers and professional staff, the department said.
IMPD’s 5-year strategic plan
According to the department, this plan will establish a “clear vision, set meaningful goals, and create a roadmap that strengthens both public safety services and internal operations while addressing the needs of officers, professional staff, and the Indianapolis community.”
In the coming months, Taylor Advising said it will host public listening sessions, and we will share details once they are confirmed.
A timeline of this strategic plan
The anticipated timeline for the strategic plan development is as follows:
- April 2025: Taylor Advising to begin department and community input collection.
- June 2025: All input collection will close.
- November 2025: A first draft of the strategic plan will be made available for public review and comment.
- January 2026: IMPD will announce and implement the final strategic plan.
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.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The state championship bracket for Indiana high school baseball has been set, with eight teams preparing for the chance of bringing home a state title.
A total of four state title games will be played between Friday, June 19th, and Saturday, June 20th. Classes 1A and 3A will play on Friday, and classes 2A and 4A will compete on Saturday.
All state championship games will be played at Victory Field, the home of the Indianapolis Indians.
The state championship matchups and times are as follows.
Friday, June 19th:
Class 3A state championship: 4:30 p.m. ET
- Guerin Catholic (27-3-1) vs Andrean (30-3)
Class 1A state championship: 8 p.m. ET
- Northeast Dubois (23-5) vs Kouts (31-1)
Saturday, June 20th:
Class 2A state championship: 4:30 p.m. ET
- Evansville Mater Dei (29-3) vs Bluffton (19-10)
Class 4A state championship: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Bloomington South (25-6) vs Lake Central (27-8)
INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — Thousands of people ventured to Military Park in Indianapolis Saturday for the 2026 Indy Pride Festival, including members of the LGBTQ community and their allies.
WATCH FULL STORY BELOW:
John-Michael Riggs, of Tennessee, travels to several pride festivals across the country each year. He said they are important because “it gives people the confidence to be who they are, to show you can go out in public and still not be hated upon.”
Erika Holland-Lesch, who came to the festival with her wife, said, “Pride means everything. It literally feels like Christmas for our community… You feel supported, you feel accepted.”
Chris Bultman said it’s the sixth time he’s attended the Indy Pride Fest.
“It’s really important for me that my friends, my family, feel really valued in this city,” he said. “We show up for pride because pride matters to our city.”
WRTV
For Rikki Wydra, it was her fifth Indy Pride Fest. She said this year’s festival seems bigger to her than in previous years, and she takes that as a sign that support for the LGBTQ community is growing in Indiana.
“You’ll never get any free expression like this any other time of the year in Indiana,” she said. “The vibe is the best.”
The festival came as Indiana Governor Mike Braun proclaimed June as Nuclear Family Month, defining the family as a husband, a wife, and children, causing backlash in Indiana’s LGBTQ community.
“That is absolutely ridiculous,” said Stefonya Shirhall. “This month is fully for the gay community as a whole. We have went through so much to get here and it is amazing to celebrate it.”
WRTV
Festival attendees proudly sported creative costumes, wore rainbow clothing, held rainbow flags, and even cooled down with rainbow fans, keeping vendors busy, like Freddy Reed, who has a business selling pride-themed merchandise.
“I do Pride every weekend in a different city,” Reed said. “It’s amazing. Every town we go to, the people are so happy, they have fun. There’s never fights. Everyone’s nice.”
The positive, festive energy at Indy Pride Fest worked in tandem with the seriousness of the cause of standing up for LGBTQ rights.
“It’s important for people, if part of the LGBTQ community, to attend these because of visibility,” Riggs said. “We need to be seen, we need to be recognized and we need to be celebrated. it’s also important for our allies to attend these events to… uphold and uplift the community and to make us feel like a community at large”
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Fever are now tied for the longest winning streak of the season after Saturday night’s win against the Connecticut Sun.
Indiana took down the Sun, 85-75, to mark the Fever’s third straight win.
Caitlin Clark had an impressive night on the offensive end. Clark had 25 points and knocked down five three-pointers in Indiana’s double-digit win.
Fever center Aliyah Boston also had a productive showing. The fourth-year Fever center recorded a double-double with her 13-point and 11-rebound performance. Saturday marked Boston’s third consecutive game with a double-double, and it’s her fourth this season.
The Fever committed 17 turnovers on Saturday, compared to the Sun’s nine. The difference, though, is that Indiana scored 25 points off turnovers to the Sun’s 14 points.
Indiana improves to 8-5 on the season and looks ahead to a home matchup against the Toronto Tempo at 7:00 p.m. this Tuesday, June 16th.
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