A look at safety in Speedway a year after IndyCar drivers robbed at gunpoint
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – As we get closer to the Indianapolis 500, more people will be in the city. But, this time last year, Indianapolis made headlines for the wrong reason.
Two teens robbed IndyCar drivers Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti at gunpoint at a Taco Bell near the track.
“I think it gives you a bit of a reality check and can make you feel pretty small,” Dixon told 24-Hour News 8 in 2017 about the robbery that made national headlines.
There are a ton of businesses, especially along 16th Street as you head out of Indianapolis into Speedway.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said the DUI unit is focusing on places around Speedway for this month. Additionally, patrol officers are zeroing in on the area around 16th Street.
Speedway Police said they regularly meet with the IMS public safety committee to make sure the community is as safe as possible.
People in the community gave their two cents on Tuesday. They think police are doing a great job.
Sherry Temple said teen crime is a problem in the area, but, as Indianapolis and Speedway welcome a couple hundred thousand for the race, she said what happened last year doesn’t worry her.
“I believe sometimes it’s just you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she said.
Temple said she has noticed police presence in May is always high.
“They’re constantly up and down are street, which tells me they’re constantly up and down the other streets,” she said.
That reality makes Temple feel safe.
The only difference Temple said she’d like to see from police are more walking patrols. She said with the new beat system, she’s hopeful to see some change where neighbors get to know their officers better.
Community members are trying to do their part, too.
“We report anything suspicious at all and I wish everyone would do that,” Temple said.
Ronald Covington, a pastor, has a long-term plan for change. He said there is no community outlet on the west side, leaving hundreds of teens with limited options and sometimes heading down the wrong path.
“They really need somewhere to go, somewhere positive,” he said.
For three years, he and his church, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, raised $300,000 to open a community center. He had hoped spring it would be open. His new goal is summer.
“An opportunity to come to a safe place where they can have fun and learn,” Covington said.
From the first responders to aware neighbors to Covington’s plan to create change, it could make a difference this May and beyond.
