Indianapolis mayoral candidates differ on plans to address crime

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — No one likes to see a road blocked by police cars or evidence markers littering the street and then hear the bad news from the police department. 

But, Indianapolis heard the same news twice Wednesday night with four people injured in shooting on the near-northwest side and a 22-year-old man fatally shot on the near-east side.

The week started with a police officer, 29-year-old Eric Rosenbaum, being shot in the line of duty on Sunday night. Police say he is in good condition and recovering.

As Indianapolis voters choose their candidates for mayor on Tuesday, crime was a hot topic. On Wednesday morning, Mayor Joe Hogsett appeared News 8’s “Daybreak” to share his vision. 

“Well, the truth is, in our city, we have fully funded 150 additional police officers that by the end of this year will be up and running. We just graduated a class of 37 new IMPD (Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department) recruits last Friday, so more police on the streets,” Hogsett said. 

When Hogsett took office he eliminated the public safety director position and moved the responsibility  to his office. Republican challenger State Senator Jim Merritt questions that move

“Frankly, I don’t know if the mayor knows what is going on in his own department. We have a speckling of crime prevention dollars every which way. He is asking Louisville (police department) to come and talk to us about prevention of crime,” Merritt said on “Daybreak.” 

 Merritt told News 8 he would bring back the public safety director and enlist the Ten Point Coalition.

“We wake up every morning hoping one of our neighbors hasn’t been shot and we are waking up every morning with that reality,” Merritt said. 

On Wednesday, an IMPD report reported 44 homicides for the year so far. For the same time last year, the city recorded 43 homicides. Police said they have made arrests in 13 cases this year, while 31 remain under investigation.

A new report on Friday, May 10, listed 46 homicides for the year so far, compared to 51 a year earlier. Of those, it listed 39 as intentional homicides this year, compared to 47 a year earlier.