Last month, Public Safety Director Frank Straub resigned from his post due to mishandled evidence in the Officer David Bisard investigation.
Straub’s resignation will be effective Aug. 1.
This move has led to a very important vacancy that is likely to be filled immediately. Currently, the public safety director position handless day-to-day operations of the Department of Public Safety which includes the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Indianapolis Fire Department among others.
Due to the importance of the role of public safety director, many feel Straub’s replacement should be handled with care and that candidates for the job should also be sensitive to issues in the Black community.
The question is, can the Black community rally together in helping choose a new, effective and inclusive public safety director?
A seat at the table
Stephen J. Clay is the pastor of Messiah Baptist Church and the president of the National Action Network Indiana Chapter (NAN-IN). NAN-IN along with
other civil rights advocates such as the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus and the NAACP Indiana Chapter recently issued a letter to Mayor Ballard requesting they be a part of the process of finding public safety director candidates for Ballard to consider.
“We are stakeholders, we are taxpayers, we are invested in this community,” said Clay.
The letter to Mayor Ballard was printed in the Indianapolis Recorder’s May 25 edition.
Clay knows that Ballard regularly meets with the Ten Point Coalition and others but believes the circle of input should be expanded and more inclusive.
“I don’t have to agree with everything you say to get along with you. If our relationship does not allot for me to disagree with you, then we don’t have a relationship. We can’t live in a community without being able to express our opinions,” said Clay.
If Ballard was to invite NAN-IN and other letter writers to the discussion, Clay said they’d be willing to be unified with other Black groups for the good of the entire Indianapolis Black community.
“(Ballard) needs to talk to all of us – Latino, Black, white, Protestant, Catholic, whatever – because whoever is public safety director is going to be in charge of public safety in a community that all of us live in,” said Clay. “Don’t bake the cake then bring it to the table and say ‘eat it, this is your new public safety director.’ Allow us to select the ingredients.”
Whoever is chosen, Clay said that this person should have broader policies and operate with a sense of accountability to the community.
Clay said that at Recorder press time Ballard had not contacted the letter writers. If he does not choose to include them, Clay said these groups would want a valid reason why they weren’t included, but would continue to advocate on behalf of the Black community.
Standing for the mayor
Rev. Charles Harrison is the pastor of Barnes United Methodist Church. As the board president of the Ten Point Coalition, he and other groups, such as the Pentecostal Alliance, regularly meet with Mayor Ballard.
“(Ten Point’s) relationship with the mayor primarily deals with the issue of crime and youth violence. Certainly we offer suggestions to him as to strategies on how to address problems,” said Harrison.
He believes those who meet with Ballard are a good representation of the Black community because they are composed of various large Black churches in the city.
He went on to say that Ballard has not discussed the issue of choosing the next public safety director with the Ten Point Coalition and doesn’t necessarily believe they should have an input on the matter.
“I don’t ever recall a time when any of the previous mayors asked us for input – it was always an appointment of the mayor. Whoever he picks, (Mayor Ballard) must answer to it if the public doesn’t like his choice,” said Harrison.
Harrison said he is not aware of other groups who want input on the next public safety director, however the Ten Point Coalition would work with anyone who wants to find common ground in choosing a quality public safety director.
He said that the Ten Point Coalition has already come together with groups such as the Baptist Ministers Alliance and others – groups they don’t typically meet with – for the good of the Black community.
Still working through the kinks
At Recorder press time, Marc Lotter, communications director for Mayor Ballard’s office, said that Ballard is still in the process of developing the best procedures to select the next public safety director.
Ballard will look at local and national candidates, however no one has been contacted for their recommendations.
“The mayor will include a variety of voices in this discussion as he did in the selection of Director Straub. He’ll be open to having input from a variety of people and organizations, those who are truly committed to wanting to see the Department of Public Safety improve and those who want to work with the city to do that,” said Lotter.
No matter how the process will be, Lotter said Ballard would make his decision similar to how he chose Straub and his predecessor Scott Newman.
“He’ll seek someone that will bring in a vast amount of experience in all of the divisions of public safety, someone who will bring those agencies together and someone who’s knowledgeable on current trends and standards of practice,” said Lotter.
Finding common ground
Terri Jett, chair of the political science department and associate professor at Butler University understands the importance of choosing the next public safety director, but warns that groups who are or want to be involved should be careful when “speaking on behalf of all Blacks.” She wonders why they believe they speak for all.
She also believes the issue of who the mayor should consult with on choosing the new public safety director is a distraction and doesn’t address the true issue at hand – systematic injustice.
“Why aren’t there more high ranking Black police officers? Why are there rampant problems that exist in Black neighborhoods? Why are the punishments more severe for Blacks? Focusing on how decisions are made will be more sustainable rather than putting energy on one individual,” said Jett.
Despite her views, she said that the issue of “various strands of Black political thought” has always persisted. She wouldn’t call it divisiveness but that there are many ways to meet the same goal.
“We’ve all been socialized to think differently about the world even though we share similar experiences of oppression and marginalization,” said Jett.
While other groups, such as Latinos, have similar issues, Jett said the key to finding common ground is everyone coming to the table to discuss issues. She believes the Black church is still relevant and is a good, peaceful way to serve as a vehicle of discussing issues – just as long as others, such as the Urban League, NAACP, women and other grassroots organizations are included.
