INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis City-County Councilor says he was shoved by a police officer during a protest Saturday night.

In a post on Facebook, Jesse Brown — who represents council district 13 — indicated that a member of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department approached a group of protestors and began shoving and grabbing them.

“Tonight, an IMPD officer approached a group of protestors from behind/beside them, did not identify himself or issue verbal orders, but started grabbing and shoving people and cussing at them to move (we were stuck behind other people blocking the sidewalk),” Brown wrote on Facebook.

Brown added that he asked the officer for his badge number and told him he was a City-County Councilor.

“I told the IMPD officer who was shoving people that I wanted his badge number,” Brown wrote. “He refused to give it. I told him I was a City Councilor. He said that he didn’t care WHO I was and grabbed my arm to shove me as well.”

Brown finished his post by confirming that he filed a formal incident report on his encounter with the officer. He also offered some criticism for the officer in the final sentence of his post.

“Officers have a difficult job, but if this is how he treated two white male candidates / elected officials, I do not trust him to serve the public and de-escalate tense situations.”

Jackson Franklin, who is running for Indiana’s fifth district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was also involved in the incident. He made a Facebook post with greater detail on the incident.

Franklin said he, Brown and others were protesting near Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of Saturday’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four games. Franklin said he and other protestors were at the Final Four “to demand the NCAA stop using the same airliners that ICE uses to break apart and deport families in this racist injustice system.”

A report from The Athletic that was syndicated by Yahoo Sports indicates that at least one airliner has contracts with the NCAA to transport student-athletes to tournaments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants.

In his post, Franklin said the officer involved in the incident “shoved/assaulted many of the protestors, including Indianapolis City-council person Jesse Brown.” Franklin added that the officer did not provide any warnings before he began shoving protestors

“I thought initially it was going to be some MAGA person just walking past that was offended by our anti-ICE chants, but I turned around and noticed that he was wearing a uniform,” Franklin wrote in his Facebook post. “It was only then he gave his commands to continue to move and he immediately went to push around many others, using his uniform as an excuse to harass those he disagreed with politically.

“There was absolutely no need for violence and the protest organizers filed a complaint, but I have no hope of any action occurring because of this complaint. While the lone officer assaulted us, there were about 10-15 other officers looking around awkwardly unsure of what to do, not protecting our first amendment right while also probably realizing the officer was way out of line and should have just asked us nicely to keep the movement on the public sidewalk going quicker rather than using violence as the first and only answer.”

FOX59/CBS4 reached out to IMPD for a statement on Brown and Franklin’s comments. As of this article’s publication, the agency had not responded to those inquiries.

Brown has been at the center of multiple city-county council disputes over the last 14 months. In February 2025, Brown — whose district encompasses portions of downtown and the near east side of Indy — said the city-county council’s democratic caucus expelled him from their ranks.

Brown also introduced a motion to remove the council’s president and vice president in July.

As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the incident Brown, Franklin and others were involved in had been made available.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On the latest “All INdiana Politics,” News 8 political reporter Garrett Bergquist speaks with Congressman Jim Baird on the Iran war.

Baird tells Bergquist that he believes Iranian leaders are getting desperate for a deal. He also weighs in on the Strait of Hormuz deadline and the TSA funding situation.

Later, Bergquist discusses the Commission for Higher Education’s decision to consolidate or eliminate hundreds of college degrees in Indiana. This decision will affect programs across all seven public institutions.

Last but not least, two members of Indiana’s best political team, Democrat Karlee Macer and Republican Lacey Berkshire, comment on the impact degree elimination or consolidation will have on education and TSA funding.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — We are 50 days away from the Indianapolis 500 and leading up to the green flag, WISH-TV is talking to people who have played a role in past races and those dedicated to the history of this iconic event.

Mike Lashmett, the founder of Vintage Indy, joined Saturday Daybreak to share his Tales From The Track.

Lashmett started as a mechanic back in 1971 for the Vel-Parnelli Jones team and George Bignotti, who won the Indy 500 with the Johnny Lightning Special 55 years ago. He said he did everything from driving the truck, to assembling the car, and working pit stops.

Lashmett shared that he was with that team for two years and then transitioned to the Super Team, who brought on Mario Andretti.

“Then I left that team at the end of ’72 and went with George Bignotti over to Patrick Racing Team,” he said. “That team won the 500 in 1973 and I was on Gordy’s car later that season. We won several races including Phoenix, and Trenton, sat on the front row for the California 500 at Ontario next to Pete Robson and Jerry Grant.”

Lashmett explained that preserving the history of the 500 is a must. He often conducts public speaking engagements with his good friend and pace car driver, Al Unser Jr, who was the first person to compete against his own father in the same Indianapolis 500.

Lashmett says Indianapolis would be nothing without the history and that it’s a very special place, not only because of the races, but because of the people.

“There’s a lot of famous racetracks in the world, Daytona, Le Mans, Monaco. No place has the history that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 has,” he said.

“And no place do the fans have the appreciation and knowledge of even the minutia of the history of all things Indianapolis. So, that’s how important it is.”

Stay updated with Indy 500 live coverage, breaking news, and exclusive sports information from WISH-TV — your source for all things Indianapolis sports.