INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — I-Team 8 tracked down Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett eating lunch at a downtown restaurant on Tuesday after deciding not to attend a press conference about homelessness in the city. It comes less than 24 hours after Lauren Roberts — who says she experienced sexual harassment and grooming from the mayor’s former top aide, Thomas Cook — was thrown out of a City-County Council meeting.

At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Hogsett was scheduled to attend a press conference to announce a new initiative with his Leadership Council on Homelessness.

Just before 11:30 a.m., his office announced he would no longer be attending the conference.

“In light of recent events, in order to keep the focus on supporting our unhoused neighbors, this afternoon’s press conference about the Streets to Home Indy initiative is postponed,” his office told News 8.

At around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, I-Team 8 found the Democrat mayor was eating lunch at The Oakmont, a popular downtown restaurant. The restaurant is a few blocks away from the press conference he was set to attend.

Maggie Adams-McBride is a former employee of Hogsett’s, having worked as a project manager in his office.

In early May, she resigned from her post, saying Hogsett did not adequately address cases of abuse and harassment.

“I am deeply concerned about how the administration handles harassment reports, including my own and those of colleagues,” Adams-McBride said in her resignation letter. She never received a response from Hogsett.

She also spoke at Monday night’s City-County Council meeting, joining calls for his resignation.

“He has not been held accountable for internal harm experienced by his workers,” Adams-McBride said at the meeting. “We have heard from survivors who have experienced retaliation, harassment, and systemic neglect, and these patterns don’t just exist in isolation.”

Following the meeting, Adams-McBride went to the restaurant on Tuesday.

When Hogsett left the restaurant, I-Team 8 was across the street and attempted to ask him why he had chosen not to attend the press conference and asked if he had a response to the City-County Council meeting Monday night.

He did not answer any questions at the restaurant.

Later on Tuesday afternoon, I-Team 8 sat down with Hogsett at the City-County Building for an interview and asked him about his interaction with Adams-McBride.

“I was having lunch and so she came up and we did have a conversation,” Hogsett said. “It’s unfortunate that she’s left the office, because I thought she was a wonderful employee, but she’s moved on to different things and I just said, simply wished her the best.”

I-Team 8 also asked the mayor if he was watching the City-County Council meeting and saw Roberts being thrown out of the meeting.

“I thought it was incredibly regrettable,” Hogsett said.

I-Team 8 also asked Hogsett what he has to say to current employees who are fearful of reporting harassment within his administration.

“I think it’s important that we continue to evolve the process for protection for all employees, and that includes confidentiality and anonymity, if they do have concerns,” Hogsett said.

As previously reported, I-Team 8 asked Hogsett if he has plans to resign.

“No, I don’t,” Hogsett said. “We’ve for two and a half years left in this term, and we have a lot to accomplish.”

Previous coverage

• 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.

Can the Indianapolis Colts put an end to their playoff drought this season? One NFL analyst weighs in.

Can the Indianapolis Colts put an end to their playoff drought this season?

The Colts haven’t made the NFL’s postseason since 2020 and are one of six teams without a playoff appearance in four-plus years.

Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com recently ranked those six teams from the least likely to end their playoff drought to the most likely, and the Colts came in pretty high at No. 2 on this list.

No. 1 in these rankings were the Atlanta Falcons, while Nos. 3-6 consisted of the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, and the New Orleans Saints, rounding things out.

“The Colts are, for the most part, returning a roster that went .500 over the last two seasons under Shane Steichen,” wrote Bergman. “Their weaknesses in the secondary have been bolstered by the additions of Camryn Bynum and Charvarius Ward. Indy’s AFC South rivals in Tennessee and Jacksonville picked No. 1 and No. 2 in the draft and have major question marks, with less-experienced coaches at the controls and first-year stars in the spotlight.”

As we’ve discussed before, there is a lot to like about this Colts roster after the offseason additions that were made, even with the unknowns at quarterback.

To begin free agency, GM Chris Ballard reshaped the secondary by signing Charvarius Ward and Cam Bynum. The Colts also hired Lou Anarumo to be defensive coordinator, whose more aggressive and malleable defensive scheme should help elevate the play of the entire unit.

Up front is a defensive line unit that has been heavily invested in over the years. While on offense, the backfield still has Jonathan Taylor, who ranked fourth in rushing yards last season, along with the Colts having the only trio of receivers to all eclipse 800 yards in 2024, and a do-it-all presence at tight end with Tyler Warren.

Although, admittedly, there is a bit more uncertainty along the offensive line this season with the Colts relying on two relatively inexperienced players in Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves.

With that said, if Indianapolis can get somewhat steady play from the quarterback spot–and I emphasize if–with the roster around that player, Indianapolis should be able to find themselves in a position to make the playoffs and potentially end this drought.