'Ineffective leadership:' Shackleford hits Hogsett on crime, releases public safety plan

Indianapolis Democratic mayoral candidate Robin Shackleford released her public safety plan for the city Wednesday at Dubarry Park on the east side, where two teenagers were killed in a double homicide last year.

"Sadly, nearby residents say the violence has not stopped,” state Rep. Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, said as she remembered the victims. "Want to know why more than 200 men, women and children have been killed in Indianapolis every year Joe Hogsett has been in office?...The answer is clear: We have ineffective leadership. And we've had it for the past eight years."

Actually, Indianapolis' annual total homicides surpassed 200 for the first time in 2020. A record 271 people were killed in 2021 in Indianapolis and another 226 were killed in 2022. An Indianapolis Star analysis of crime data published in 2021 shows a rising homicide rate since at least 2012. Hogsett took office in 2016.

Shackleford's public safety plan is the first in a series of policy announcements Shackleford will make ahead of the May 2 primary, where she will face Hogsett, community activist Clif Marsiglio, perennial candidate Bob Kern, and Larry Vaughn.

More:5 things to know about the Indianapolis mayoral primaries

In her plan, she calls for rebuilding the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department by raising officer base pay to $65,000 from the current of about $61,000, and removing what she called barriers to hiring, including the Credit Check Report requirement. She also wants to recruit from minority neighborhoods, implement more community-oriented policing, improve resources for victims' assistance, increase the number of detectives and decrease the unsolved homicide rate, which was 65% in 2022.

She also called for increased police accountability measures, citing the 2022 police killing of Herman Whitfield III and the 2021 Monument Circle incident when a sergeant kicked a handcuffed man in the face.

Whitfield's family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city and several police officers that is pending. A federal grand jury indicted the officer who kicked the handcuffed man and Marion County prosecutors filed charges against him.

"The people don't trust the police anymore," Shackleford said.

Her proposed police reforms include mandating all officer-involved shootings be investigated by an outside authority, releasing all body camera footage for such shootings and excessive force cases to the public within 48 hours, developing a city-operated app to allow residents to rate interactions with police officers, ensuring police radio encryption is not implemented, and instituting new training in cultural sensitivity, de-escalation, mental health and unconscious bias recognition.

A spokesperson for Hogsett's campaign responded to IndyStar questions on Shackleford's criticisms and said the pandemic resulted in a tragic rise in gun crimes across the country.

"That's why he dramatically increased police officer pay to some of the highest levels in the Midwest, invested millions in new policing technologies, and launched a $150 million anti-violence plan that focuses on stopping crimes before they occur," the statement read. It added that 2022 saw a decrease in criminal homicides from the previous year.

Although the city passed this year's budget with record public safety spending, including funds to boost officer pay, Shackleford said that it was too dependent on temporary federal COVID-19 funding and longer-term solutions are needed.

During her policy announcement, she was joined by Indianapolis mother Sharon Dunson Hatfield, who said her son, Scott Batson, was killed in 2011.

"In order for Scott's death not to be in vain we need to address the root causes of crime," Hatfield said. "That is why I am supporting Rep. Shackleford, because she has vowed in her campaign announcement that we need to put resources into the police department to fight crimes."

Shackleford also proposed instituting a red flag ordinance to allow municipal judges to issue emergency protection orders to temporarily prevent those at risk of harming themselves and others from obtaining firearms.

Contact IndyStar reporter Ko Lyn Cheang at kcheang@indystar.com or 317-903-7071. Follow her on Twitter: @kolyn_cheang.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Shackleford hits Hogsett on crime, releases public safety plan