IMPD Explains Response After Video Raises Questions
INDIANAPOLIS –The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is responding after a widely shared video shows a confrontation on the city’s west side involving a man accused of sexual contact with minors.
The video was recorded by Alex Rosen, who runs Predator Poachers, a group known for confronting people they claim are involved in crimes against children.
In the video, Rosen questions a man who appears to admit, in front of officers, to sexual contact with underage children and viewing or buying child sexual abuse material. Officers are seen on scene during the exchange.
Rosen criticizes how officers handled the situation.
“If you plan on committing crimes against children, I do not see why you wouldn’t live in Indianapolis,” Rosen said. “I mean this is like just the haven for predators here.”
He also describes what he says the man admitted.
“He admitted in front of these officers that he had sexual contact with two underage kids, including sex with one,” Rosen said. “And also meant into viewing and buying child pornography.”
Rosen claims officers did not take action at the scene.
“No detective is coming out,” he said. “The detectives are refusing to do their job. They are refusing to take any device that viewed child pornography on it.”
In another part of the video, Rosen argues with an officer.
“I like how we’re arguing about this and not just, you know, probable cause arrest,” he said.
IMPD says officers have to follow the law when responding to situations like this, including deciding whether there is probable cause and collecting evidence in a way that allows a case to move forward.
The department says cases involving possible crimes against children are handled by specialized detectives and can take time, including reviewing electronic devices and working with prosecutors.
IMPD says it does not comment on specific cases and adds that claims made in public or online do not replace a formal investigation.
Police are asking anyone with information about possible crimes involving children to report it directly so it can be investigated.
