FOP President: Crime Plan Missing Police Input

INDIANAPOLIS — The president of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police says frontline officers should have had a seat at the table during a Central Indiana crime summit at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The meeting brought together mayors and police chiefs from across the region to discuss rising crime, but Indy FOP President Rick Snyder says the officers responding to those crimes every day were left out of the conversation.

Snyder says he supports leaders coming together, but believes the people closest to the problem need to help shape the solutions.

“It’s great that they’re getting together. It’s great that they’re bringing their chiefs of police to talk about it. But the one thing that’s missing is the perspective of the street-level, frontline police officers.”

Snyder says officers working in communities every day understand the challenges and potential solutions better than anyone.

“We don’t need more meetings to have more meetings. We know what the problems are. We need the solutions.”

Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam led the roundtable discussion, and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett also attended. Prosecutors were not part of the meeting.

Snyder also criticized Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, saying his approach to repeat violent offenders has contributed to crime spreading from Indianapolis into surrounding communities.

“We don’t have a policing problem. We have a prosecutor problem.”

Snyder pointed to a recent vote of no confidence against Mears from law enforcement representatives across Indiana, along with criticism from prosecutors and elected officials in surrounding counties.

He says the issue goes beyond Indianapolis, impacting communities and taxpayers throughout Central Indiana.

“It’s not just that people are losing their lives. It’s also the implications on the taxpayers in their communities.”

Snyder says law enforcement leaders outside Indianapolis warned for years that violent crime connected to repeat offenders could spread if action was not taken.

“We’re not running around trying to say we were right, but we were right. What we’ve got to do is get a handle on this to save lives.”

Mears has pushed back on criticism of his office, calling previous attacks politically motivated. Snyder says the concerns are coming from law enforcement leaders across the state.

“There used to be a day when cops and other parts of the state couldn’t even tell you the name of the prosecutor in Indianapolis, but now they can. That’s a problem.”

Snyder says the no-confidence vote was a message from law enforcement, not a political move.

“When that occurred, the prosecutor suggested this was some kind of political stunt. I would say somebody needs to tell Ryan Mears that nearly 14,000 law enforcement officers across the state of Indiana are saying you suck at doing your job. It’s not a stunt. It’s a statement.”