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 — The man helping lead one of Indianapolis’ biggest race weekend traditions still had to pay 10 bucks to park.
As downtown filled Saturday morning for the 70th annual Lucas Oil 500 Festival Parade ahead of the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500, Pascal Siakam pulled up to a parking lot expecting a little Grand Marshal treatment.
Instead, the four-time NBA All-Star found himself in a friendly standoff with a vendor charging $10 for parking.
In a video posted to his social media accounts, the Pacers forward laughed as he rolled into the lot.
“I ain’t trying to pay for real,” Siakam joked from the car. “I ain’t even got 10 bucks.”
When Siakam rolled down his window to face the vendor he asked half-jokingly, “The Grand Marshal don’t get to park for free?”
The woman wasn’t buying it.
“You’re not the Grand Marshal,” she told him. “Caitlin Clark is.”
Siakam, alongside teammate Andrew Nembhard, served as co-Grand Marshal for this year’s parade. Clark, of course, was named Grand Marshal for Sunday’s race festivities — not the parade itself.
Even after Siakam explained the mix-up, the vendor still wasn’t convinced. The video shows her eventually looking it up herself before realizing the 6-foot-8 Pacers star was telling the truth the entire time.
Still, no special treatment
After all the back-and-forth, Siakam paid the $10 anyway.
The exchange quickly became a humorously relatable race weekend moment — even basketball royalty isn’t safe from negotiating for parking in downtown Indianapolis.
Saturday’s parade wound through downtown as one of the city’s signature traditions leading into race day, featuring marching bands, floats, giant balloons, celebrities and all 33 IndyCar drivers competing in Sunday’s Indy 500.
Jessica Garcete is an IndyStar sports reporter. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to theYouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
Indianapolis, IN
Ahead of the Indianapolis 500, DCR Restyles Romain Grosjean’s No. 18 to Honor the Late Kyle Busch
While there will be no No. 8 or No. 18 run at Charlotte Motor Speedway this Memorial Day weekend, over in Indianapolis, Kyle Busch’s most iconic No. 18 will have the chance to run the Indianapolis 500 that he never got following his unexpected passing on Thursday at the age of 41 from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis, per a statement shared from the family to The Athletic.
Joe Gibbs Racing has not used the No. 18 since Busch left the organization after the completion of the 2022 season, and as announced yesterday, Richard Childress Racing will halt the use of the No. 8 in honor of Busch until his son Brexton is ready to go “NASCAR racing.”
Plans came together the day before the running of the 110th Indianapolis 500 for Romain Grosjean to run Busch’s stylized No. 18 after a suggestion from Fox Sports broadcaster Townsend Bell, per Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal. Fox Sports and JGR worked together to get the tribute approved and on the car.
Busch ran the No. 18 for 15 years, including both successful Championship campaigns in 2015 and 2019.
Right in between these two championships, Kyle Busch had the chance to race The Double in 2017, securing approval from Chevrolet, Toyota, and his main sponsor of the era, Mars Inc., with his iconic M&Ms scheme. Ultimately, Joe Gibbs shot it down. Earlier this year, on an episode of his former teammate Denny Hamlin’s podcast Actions Detrimental, he shared that if a deal were to come together again, he would take the opportunity with the assumed support of Richard Childress.
Victoria Beaver is a nomadic sports writer who spends her time hopping between race tracks and hippie farms. She’s covered every corner of motorsports that will let her in from 410 Sprints to NASCAR to Supercross. Her daily driver is a 2010 Subaru that she refused to do the smallest amount of preventative maintenance on. Instead, she spends her free time and money building a 42-foot Skoolie to one day travel the country full time.
Fan captures Rossi’s Indy 500 practice crash up close (1)
Here’s what it looked like from the front row as Alexander Rossi crashed during Indy 500 practice.
Courtesy of Chris Schaefer
If you’re headed to the race Sunday, bring some rain gear and patience. Indianapolis could see rain on the day of the Indy 500 for the third straight year, according to multiple weather forecasts.
IndyStar is helping race fans prepare for the spectacle by publishing daily updates before tomorrow’s race, scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m.
IndyStar’s historic weather analysis (provided below) shows that it’s rained only once on May 24 since 2006 and the average temperature for the past 20 years has been in the upper 60s. That said, this year threatens to buck the trend as multiple current forecasts call for some precipitation at some point on Sunday, May 24.
What will the weather be like for the Indy 500?
The National Weather Service on Saturday warned of a wet race day, upgrading its forecast of a 60% chance of precipitation Sunday to 70%. The forecast calls for scattered showers before 11 a.m., then scattered thunderstorms until 1 p.m. Green flag at the Speedway race is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Rainfall totals are expected to be between a tenth and a quarter of an inch but could be more in the event of thunderstorms. Outside of the possible storms, skies will be mostly cloudy with a high temperature near 79 degrees.
AccuWeather’s forecast shows an 88% chance of rain on race day with a 53% chance of thunderstorms. Skies will be cloudy with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm with a high temperature in the mid-70s. The weather provider’s outlook notes that “rain and thunderstorms could impact the race.”
The Weather Underground forecast is the most optimistic of the three, calling for a 47% chance of precipitation around noon and mostly cloudy skies throughout the day. According to the group’s hour-by-hour forecast, rain might last an hour or two. The high temperature will be in the mid-to-low 70s.
What is the weather forecast for Memorial Day if there’s a delay?
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is equipped with massive jet dryers capable of drying the track in roughly 90 minutes; these fans have been deployed each of the last two years.
However, in the event of a delay due to ongoing rain and/or thunderstorms, Monday looks to be rather track-friendly. The National Weather Service has downgraded its forecast of a 30% chance of precipitation Memorial Day to mostly cloudy skies with a high temperature near 81 degrees.
What will weather be like for Legends Day, Festival Parade?
This year’s Indy 500 Legends Day takes place today, Saturday, May 23, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 500 Festival Parade takes place downtown at noon.
Consistent with yesterday’s forecast, the National Weather Service gives a 30% chance of rain, though most of the scattered showers were expected to come before 9 a.m. Skies will remain mostly cloudy throughout the day with a high temperature in the mid-70s.
Indy 500 weather history
IndyStar analyzed 20 years of historic data from Weather Underground for May 24, this year’s Race Day.
Daily temperatures averaged in the high 60s and it has rained only one day out of the last 20 since 2006. Precipitation totals on rainy days were light, with the highest on record at only one-tenth of an inch.
On previous race days, temperatures varied wildly from a high of 92 degrees in 1937 and a low of 37 degrees in 1947, according to the National Weather Service.
The most rain fell on May 30, 2004, when Race Day was inundated with nearly 4 inches of precipitation. The race eventually ran but was cut short due to a tornado in the area.
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