A city’s residents are often encouraged to participate in government, attend public meetings, question elected officials and hold public institutions accountable.
But civic participation can be seen as complicated when disagreement is interpreted as disruption and the people who come to be heard find themselves being removed.
For Jamaal Shabazz, a Sept. 9 meeting of the Indianapolis City-County Council’s Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee raised questions that extend beyond his physical removal from the meeting room. These questions relate to who gets to challenge public authority, how that authority is exercised and what accountability looks like when the people responsible for maintaining order become the subject of a complaint.
Shabazz attended the meeting, which included discussion of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s proposed budget, to document the proceedings and protest the fatal police shooting of 21-year-old Dalys Jett.
He said two women in attendance — one Black and one white — laughed during the meeting. According to Shabazz, Councilor Leroy Robinson directed sheriff’s deputies to remove them. Shabazz questioned the order, arguing that laughing alone did not warrant their removal. Then Robinson directed the sheriff’s deputies to remove him.
Shabazz said a deputy grabbed his arm while he was seated; he attempted to explain that he had not violated meeting rules and needed room to collect his tripod, bag and recording equipment. After another deputy intervened, he said, the first deputy released his arm, allowing him to gather his belongings.
According to Shabazz, he then walked toward the exit. He alleges that an officer shoved him in the back. When he turned around, he said, he was pushed in the chest before several officers took him to the ground.
The Sheriff’s Office has offered a different account, saying Shabazz refused orders to leave and physically resisted deputies. Reviewing available videos could clarify the sequence of events.
For Shabazz, however, the incident has become more than the physical encounter.
“I think it would be selfish of me to sit back and not take any action, to hold them accountable, because if I do that, what if this happens to somebody else?” he said.
Shabazz said his decision to pursue accountability is rooted in his belief that residents should be treated fairly when they engage with public institutions. He also referenced his nearly five years of active-duty service in the Army.
“I think I should have been treated fairly simply because I’m a human being,” he said.
His attorney, Hamid Saahir, said a notice of tort claim has been filed against the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and other responsible governmental entities. Mr. Shabazz’s claims include battery, excessive force, unlawful detention, and violations of his First Amendment rights, including retaliation and viewpoint discrimination. Councilor Jesse Brown’s eyewitness account provides additional support for a thorough examination of the deputies’ conduct and the circumstances surrounding Mr. Shabazz’s removal.
A notice of tort claim is a formal step in asserting a claim against a government entity; it is not the same as filing a civil lawsuit in court.
Saahir said, “We expect the City-County Council to do what is right. He described that expectation as publicly addressing the situation and ensuring residents’ rights are not infringed.”
That request raises a question beyond the legal claim: What does public accountability look like when an incident happens inside the very institution residents are encouraged to approach?
Councilor Rena Allen, who was absent on Sept. 9, says she encourages Indianapolis residents to participate in public meetings and communicate with elected officials. Allen said, “The goal isn’t to silence our constituents; we need to hear from them.”
“I urge residents to build relationships with council members,” Allen said. “Call the council office or email… If you can’t get in contact with your council member, email me and I will get it to them.”
Her message reflects the importance of an engaged public. But the experience described by Shabazz raises another question: What responsibility does government have to protect meaningful participation when residents disagree with the people presiding over public meetings?
Officials rely on rules to maintain order during public meetings, and meeting procedures can establish reasonable limits on public participation. But those responsibilities also require clarity, consistency and accountability. Disagreement with an elected official is not evidence of disruption.
The council and the Sheriff’s Office have different responsibilities in this situation. The council establishes and administers its meeting procedures, while sheriff’s deputies are responsible for carrying out their law enforcement duties. Understanding what happened requires examining both the decision to remove people and the actions taken during the removal.
Knowing whether complaints are investigated whether findings are communicated and whether institutions make changes when their practices fall short can contribute to transparency.
For Shabazz, the experience has been difficult to revisit. He described watching videos of his removal as traumatic. Still, he said he believes taking action matters because the same treatment could happen to someone else.
He also questioned whether voting alone is enough to sustain civic engagement.
“Yes, go vote. That’s our civic duty. But what are you going to do after that?” he said.
Voting places residents in the process of choosing their representatives. Participation in public meetings allows them to continue questioning those representatives after the election.
A measure of an accessible government is whether residents can question authority, express disagreement and expect their concerns to be addressed without the process itself becoming another barrier to participation.
*At the time of publishing, Council Member Leroy Robinson had not responded to the questions posed at the Indianapolis Recorder’s request.
Contact Health and Environmental Reporter LaTasha Boyd Jones at tashaj@indyrecorder.com or follow her on social media @iamtashajones.
Tasha Jones is a poet, writer, researcher, and educator whose work explores language as a tool for liberation and resistance. She hosts In the Beginning: The Spoken Word Podcast, the #1 spoken word podcast on Apple and Spotify. Tasha is also the Poems & Parables Literary Journal editor and is currently writing Pyramids. Plantations. Projects. Penitentiaries. You can follow her on social media: @iamtashajones, @itbspokenwordpod, and @poemsandparables.
