INDIANAPOLIS–Disbanding or defunding the police in Indianapolis, or any city for that matter, would be an “overreaction”, says the President of the Indy Ten Point Coalition.
The Ten Point Coalition’s mission is to reduce urban youth gun violence and other critical issues in Indianapolis and surrounding areas. Reverend Charles Harrison is the Senior Pastor at Barnes United Methodist Church and Board President of the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition
Harrison told 93 WIBC’s Rob Kendall Wednesday that disbanding or defunding the police would create more chaos and lawlessness. Instead, Harrison said there needs to be a broader conversation.
“We have to get a bipartisan group of leaders together. Too often, we’re only listening to one segment of the city and we’re not getting a broader perspective. It’s important that we get the politics out of this. If you want to get broader support, you have to do it so it’s not just a Democratic initiative. All of us have to be a part of this conversation,” says Harrison. “I think (disbanding police) would cause people to leave Indianapolis. Nobody wants to live in a city where you don’t have a police department policing the community.”
In terms of politics, Harrison says Ten Point was started under a Republican mayor by a group of black pastors.
“We were labeled as a Republican group, so we have never gotten the support from the Democrats. That is tragic because Ten Point does work in partnership with law enforcement and the community. It is a proven strategy that does reduce violence in neighborhoods when it’s done right,” says Harrison.
Harrison says if we are going to address the issue of “black lives,” then leaders need to address urban violence and how it affects “Black America.”
“That has to be a part of the overall conversation so we can figure out what are the underlying factors and root causes that are leading to this violence, so we can reduce the violence. If we can reduce the violence, then you’ll have less of a police presence in these neighborhoods that tends to lead to these sometimes tragic interactions between law enforcement and black males,” says Harrison.
Kendall also spoke with Dwayne Sawyer, former President of the Brownsburg Town Council. Sawyer, like Harrison, is an African American. Sawyer also served on the police commission at one point. He also says defunding or disbanding the police would be a mistake.
“If you know you’re a bad guy, in this current environment with police being demonized, that emboldens the bad guy to be more bad because they know there is pressure on the cops to second guess themselves. There is no one solution fits all, but it involves fundamentals. We can solve these problems with education,” says Sawyer.
