IMPD lays out $323M budget proposal, with increase aimed at reversing police force losses

Officials with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department presented a $323.8 million budget request Wednesday evening before the Indianapolis City-County Council Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee.

The IMPD request for 2024, backed by Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration, would make up the largest portion of the proposed $1.6 billion city budget, at about 21%. The proposed IMPD budget is $10.6 million larger than in 2023, or about $3.5%, with funds going toward officer salaries, additional equipment and vehicles. Officials said they are hopeful that the additional investment will draw police candidates to the department at a time when it is short more than 300 officers.

The department currently has 1,529 officers, a year-to-date decline of 61. The budget fully funds pay for 1,743 officers, while federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act can fund an additional 100.

“We’ve lost a lot of good people over the last three years,” IMPD Assistant Chief Chris Bailey told attendees. Since the beginning of 2020, the department has experienced a net loss of 187 officers, according to data provided in the department’s presentation.

The department is seeking a $7.3 million increase to help boost recruit pay. Under the proposal, first-year officers would have a salary of $72,000 and second-year officers $75,000. Because officers in their third year join the collective bargaining unit, salaries beyond first- and second-year officers are negotiated rather than set.

Officers would also receive a retention bonus of $2,500 at the end of the first year.

Officer recruitment has become a key talking point in the campaign of Republican mayoral candidate Jefferson Shreve. The candidate released a statement on the police shortage after the hearing.

“In six of the last eight years that Joe Hogsett has been in office, we’ve lost more officers than we’ve gained,” Shreve wrote. “… There are 124 fewer officers on the force today than when he took office. This isn’t a budgetary challenge; it’s a leadership challenge.”

The Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police announced via Twitter ahead of the meeting that the organization was supportive of the proposed budget for IMPD.

“Our collective membership of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police fully supports the budget as proposed by Mayor Joe Hogsett,” FOP President Rick Snyder wrote in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter. “… We thank Chief of Police [Randal] Taylor, Assistant Chief Chris Bailey and the entire Command Staff for their work to address the vital staffing, equipment and labor needs of the workforce.”

Days before, the same police union announced it would not endorse a candidate in the race for Indianapolis mayor.

The proposed budget also includes a $2 million increase for equipment such as laptops, dash cams and public safety cameras.

An estimated 75 cars would be fitted with dash cams with $591,000. There are currently 25, Bailey said in August.

Another $375,000 is budgeted for license plate readers, with $200,000 budgeted for additional public safety cameras. Another $100,000 would pay for more training.

The department also plans to refresh its vehicle fleet. The leases for about 300 vehicles would cost the department $5.9 million.

There was no vote on the budget Wednesday. The budget is expected to go before the full City-County Council in mid-October.

Advocates concerned about police brutality 

During the presentation, advocates held signs decrying the death of Herman Whitfield III. Two IMPD officers were indicted for Whitfield’s death in August.

Whitfield’s parents sat in the audience, while Kristin Berry spoke on behalf of the Justice for Herman Whitfield campaign.

“My son was arrested and charged with felony intimidation after a call for help during a mental health crisis. He spent six months in jail,” Berry said. “The Whitfields called for help during a mental health crisis, and instead of paramedics, they got IMPD. Before the night was over, their son was dead.”

Eli Morey, an advocate with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, accused the department of being responsible for three deaths last month: those of Gary Harrell and Kendall Gilbert, who were both shot by IMPD officers; and Joseph Rudolph Stiger, who was struck by an IMPD officer while riding his bike.

“Why not take money from the police budget and make [the Mobile Crisis Assistance Team, or MCAT] a full-time service so that another person experiencing a mental health crisis doesn’t get murdered?” Morey said.

IMPD Chief Randal Taylor directly addressed the issue prior to the presentation.

“Any life lost in our city should cause us to pause and reflect,” Taylor said. “Many in our community have questions about our police officer-involved shootings. I sympathize with families who have experienced these unfortunate outcomes.”

Taylor said these instances undergo a thorough investigative process. Criminal investigations are turned over to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, while the civilian-majority Use of Force Review Board will use information gathered by internal affairs detectives to make a recommendation for action.

The department began implementing criminal justice reform efforts in 2016, Bailey told attendees. According to the IMPD presentation, there have been seven instances of an IMPD officer shooting a civilian so far this year.

There were 20 such incidents in 2015 and 18 in 2016. There was a downward trend until 2021, when IMPD officers shot 13 people.

The presentation highlighted some ways in which the department is aiming to improve responses to mental health crises. MCAT and the department’s Homeless Outreach team will receive an additional $2 million.

Bailey said that individuals with mental health issues have been “thrown on the backs of law enforcement, which isn’t fair” but that the city is moving in the right direction. Outside of IMPD, the Office of Public Health and Safety has launched a non-police clinician-led response team for mental health and addiction related emergencies.