MARION COUNTY, Ind. — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office has filed a lawsuit against the state of Indiana over officer training.
According to IndyPolitics, the suit stems from an apparent refusal to train deputies from the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board. The suit cites de-escalation training as the main complaint. Lawmakers mandated de-escalation training last year. The county sheriff’s office also says the board does not believe sheriff’s deputies are not eligible for merit protections under state law.
The board says Marion County Sheriff’s deputies are “special deputies” and have “no law enforcement responsibilities” and are excluded from training at the Law Enforcement Academy.
In its response, the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board said the de-escalation training was only mandated for a specific group of police and that sheriff’s deputies “do not currently possess the lawful authority to enforce the state’s penal laws”, and the deputies are “specifically excluded from the group of ‘law enforcement officers’ defined by the Indiana code.”
The Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board tells WIBC/Network Indiana that it cannot comment on pending litigation.
