City-County Councilor Claims IMPD Officer Shoved Him at Protest
City-County Councilor Claims IMPD Officer Shoved Him During Protest
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis City-County Councilor claims he was shoved by a police officer during a protest on Saturday night.
Jesse Brown, who represents council district 13, stated on Facebook that the officer approached the protestors aggressively without identifying himself.
“Tonight, an IMPD officer approached a group of protestors from behind/beside them, did not identify himself or issue verbal orders, but started grabbing and shoving people and cussing at them to move (we were stuck behind other people blocking the sidewalk),” Brown said in a post Saturday.
Brown, U.S. House of Representatives candidate Jackson Franklin, and a few others were protesting near Lucas Oil Stadium ahead of the NCAA Final Four games. Brown said he asked for the officer’s badge number, but the officer wouldn’t give it to him.
“He refused to give it,” Brown wrote. “I told him I was a City Councilor. He said that he didn’t care WHO I was and grabbed my arm to shove me as well.”
Franklin made his own post on social media, stating that he and other protestors were at the Final Four “to demand the NCAA stop using the same airliners that ICE uses to break apart and deport families in this racist injustice system.”
“There was absolutely no need for violence and the protest organizers filed a complaint, but I have no hope of any action occurring because of this complaint,” Franklin wrote. “While the lone officer assaulted us, there were about 10-15 other officers looking around awkwardly unsure of what to do.”
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department had not made a statement about this alleged incident as of Monday morning.
