David Bisard, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officer who was charged with the 2010 killing of one motorcyclist and seriously injuring two others was found guilty earlier this week of all nine charges, including reckless homicide and causing a death while driving drunk.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 26, but immediately after Tuesday’s verdict was announced, questions began to arise regarding the future of IMPD. More specifically, the process of releasing, or firing officers when they are involved in criminal cases.
Many IMPD officials including Public Safety Director Troy Riggs and Police Chief Rick Hite want those decisions to be made internally by Hite.
I tend to agree.
The IMPD Merit Board has seven members. Four are appointed by the Department of Public Safety, two are appointed by the Fraternal Order of Police and one is appointed by the City-County Council.
According to the board’s website, the “Police Merit Board establishes rules and regulations for the department; develops a classification of ranks, grades, and positions for members of IMPD, and oversees the merit system.”
When the Bisard incident initially occurred, the officer was placed on paid leave. For the better part of the past three years, Bisard has been suspended without pay. Based on the severity of the case, Bisard should have been released from his position immediately.
I like the concept of the Merit Board, but I also think it should be up to the discretion of responsible law enforcement personnel who have a history of credibility and fairness. When the Bisard trial made headlines in 2010, IMPD was a mess. There were tons of allegations of maltreatment by officers toward citizens, preferential deference made toward officers who were guilty of certain misdeeds, and a basic mistrust of the police department in general. When the Bisard incident occurred, there were even allegations (some seemed pretty credible) of favorable treatment of Bisard by his fellow officers.
When such unethical incidents occur and when there is an inept department, it makes complete sense to have a Merit Board oversee cases involving officer disciplinary actions and even terminations.
But things are a lot better now than they were just three years ago. The positive attributes are largely credited to Riggs and Hite. Riggs runs the entire Public Safety Department like an established business that has individual goals and standards of conduct for the respective departments. This was a very logical and effective move on Riggs’ part. And Hite is just as good. He has a strong law enforcement background in addition to effectively balancing his job as chief of police and his role in the community. Hite has made the African-American community in particular a bit more trusting of law enforcement. Obviously things are not where they should be, but the relationship between IMPD and the minority community is significantly better than it was.
So where does that leave the discussion about who handles the terminations and other disciplinary actions of police officers?
A good balance would be to let Hite make the initial recommendations and provide the necessary information to support his findings. Then the Merit Board can review it and if everything seems fair and consistent, they go with Hite’s recommendation. Since Hite has served the public for many years and held various positions, he will have insight that many non-law enforcement personnel may not have. Hite will be able to look at things from a holistic standpoint and make the necessary determination in regards to rectifying the issue.
It is important to have some sort of governing authority in the event Riggs and Hite leave the city or for some unforeseen reason, start being less effective in their roles. We can’t give Riggs and Hite complete control because essentially they are just two individuals, but we can’t diminish their control either because they have both been entrusted with the professional roles they currently have and deservingly so. It will be a true balancing act, but until Hite or Riggs gives us (the public and the Merit Board) a reason not to trust them, then we should actually do just that: trust them and their leadership by giving them the opportunity to run IMPD effectively.
You can email comments to Shannon Williams at shannonw@indyrecorder.com.
