OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Indianapolis Public Safety Committee Meeting: January 15, 2026

City-County CouncilThursday, January 15, 2026
BodyIndianapolis, Indiana
SessionCity-County Council
DateThursday, January 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good evening, everyone.

0:01

It's uh 5 30 p.m.

0:03

on Wednesday, January the 14th, 2026.

0:06

We're in the public assembly room of the city county building.

0:09

Welcome to the public safety and criminal justice committee of the city county council.

0:13

Total introductions uh of our far left, uh counselor Michael Hart.

0:18

Thank you, Mr.

0:19

Chairman.

0:19

Michael Paul Hart, representing District 20.

0:22

Thank you, Mr.

0:22

Chairman, Josh Bain, District 21.

0:24

Thank you, Counselors.

0:25

Thank you, Mr.

0:26

Chair.

0:26

Brian Mowra, District 25.

0:28

Good evening, Chairman Robinson.

0:30

Crystal Ewells, District 11, West Side.

0:33

Thank you, Counselors.

0:34

Counselor Perkins.

0:35

Thank you, Mr.

0:35

Chair, Dr.

0:36

Carlos Perkins, District 6.

0:38

Thank you, Mr.

0:38

Chair Brienne Delini, District 2.

0:41

Thank you, Mr.

0:42

Chair Renee Allen, District 15.

0:44

Thank you, Mr.

0:45

Chair, Frank Biscarry, District 19, Southeast Side.

0:48

Thank you, Counselors.

0:50

I am Leoyer Robinson representing District 1, Chair of the Committee.

0:53

The first agenda is proposal 375 2025 appoints Evan Sharon to the juvenile detention center advisory board.

1:01

Mr.

1:01

Sharon do communicate with us.

1:03

He is uh out this evening as well.

1:05

So he'll be here in February.

1:06

So with consent, I'd like to move 375 to the next meeting in February.

1:10

So move.

1:12

Thank you so much.

1:13

Uh also proposal number nine, 2026 reappoints Robert Hammerley to the Marion County Public Defenders Board.

1:20

Uh is Mr.

1:20

Hamlin present today.

1:23

So we weren't able to get in touch with him for this evening.

1:27

So we will move this to February as well with the other appointment with consent.

1:30

We'll move proposal number nine, 2026 as well.

1:34

Thank you.

1:34

So those first two are moved to our February committee meeting.

1:38

Thank you so much.

1:39

Proposal number 10, 2026.

1:52

And the Health First India Initiative Grant Project.

1:56

Ms.

1:56

Corner, you want to come forward, please?

1:58

Welcome.

1:58

Yes.

2:00

Speak to us about this uh this grant, please.

2:03

Yes, thank you, Mr.

2:04

Chairman, and good evening, everyone.

2:06

I want to take a moment to share an opportunity involving the Marion County Coroner's office that aligns with my vision of transparency, public education, and will highlight the professionalism of our agency and our partnerships.

2:23

Our office has been selected to participate in a documentary.

2:29

It's a documentary style series called Cause of Death.

2:33

This will focus on the work of medical legal death investigation, what happens from the first notification of the death through the determination of the cause and manner of death and how that work supports public safety, public health, and families.

2:51

Currently, this docuseries has aired for three seasons in the UK, and it is number one there.

2:59

At this time, so they want to bring the docuseries here to the USA.

3:05

This project is an observational nature in how it will work.

3:11

It is not staged and it does not interfere with operations.

3:15

The goal is to accurately and respectfully educate the public about a function of government that oftentimes goes misunderstood.

3:25

So why we're here today is that this project, funded by the production company and not taxpayers, is wanting to pay our office $60,000 for their participation and our partnership for this series.

3:43

So the corner's office will receive this fund, these funds to offset staff time, administrative coordination, and operational impacts related to filming.

3:53

Those funds are intended to support our existing mission and to ensure that there's no financial burden to the city.

4:01

So the mayor, the office of corporation council, they have both been in informed and briefed and are supportive, and we finalized our legal and consent protocols to ensure family privacy, dignity, and compliance in every step.

4:17

So I look forward to continuing the work with the council and the city leadership as we move forward with transparency, accountability, and respect for the community that we serve.

4:28

So they are going to give us $60,000 in three sets of deposits.

4:39

And they will then we will also uh share information with them.

4:44

So essentially our partnership is set where any offset, it will cover any of that additionally with the cost of perhaps purchasing supplies and equipment that we may need to support that effort in the docuseries.

5:01

The additional $5,000 is from a grant that we received with the Marion County Public Health Department called Health First, where we are sharing information and educating our community on gun safety and other safety efforts for public health services that we provide in the community.

5:22

Thank you so much, Ms.

5:23

Corner.

5:24

Comments or questions, counselors.

5:26

Councillor Bain.

5:28

Thank you, Mr.

5:29

Chairman.

5:29

Thank you, Madam Coroner, for the presentation.

5:32

I think this is a really unique opportunity for your office.

5:36

Just out of curiosity, what's the timeline look like for filming and then like production and ultimately release?

5:44

Sure.

5:44

So filming will start in mid-February and it will go for about four and a half to five months.

5:50

And then once we wrap up with all of the edits and all of that, we're looking at production to finally drop around July or August for the first series to be aired in the UK first.

6:05

So it's going to be aired in the UK first, and then if it is something that is of interest, then we will have a season two where it will be sold to a production company or sold for international or US viewing, and I don't know how all that works, but that is the plan so far.

6:27

Okay, yeah, very interesting.

6:29

Kind of reminds me of the shift, the old the old TV show that I grew up watching that followed IMPD along here.

6:35

So yeah, interesting opportunity and look forward to supporting it.

6:38

Thank you.

6:38

Thank you, Councillor.

6:39

Counselor Perkins.

6:41

Thank you, Mr.

6:42

Chair, and Madam Coroner, good to see you.

6:45

Um who and how are cases decided that will be a part of this series?

6:51

So I make the final decision on any cases that will move forward through production.

6:56

Um of the unique things about this particular series, and I have been around for a while, so I was involved with the shift as well.

7:04

Um, they're not interested in homicides, and so the showcase for the city is more what we do as death investigators.

7:10

So they're not interested in those criminal cases.

7:13

So any cases that move forward are going to be cases that I select and say that I give the authorization for moving forward with, in addition to the fact that they will also be talking to families.

7:24

And so if the families are not comfortable while talking to them or sharing information about their loved one, those cases will not move forward as well.

7:32

The other interesting thing about this production company is they are more interested in the family understanding the cause of death.

7:40

So this is more for families to understand and walk through that entire process.

7:45

So interviewing the families, and I've seen the previous shows that are airing currently in the UK, and it is a direct um relationship with the family so that they understand what is happening and what has happened to their loved one.

8:00

Thank you for that.

8:01

Um from your your viewing of the series uh currently can you give us give me a kind of a typical cause of death case that they are interested in.

8:12

Sure.

8:13

So the Marion County Quarter's Office conducts over 4,000 death investigations, right?

8:17

So of those, roughly 400 or more are really natural deaths.

8:22

Another 200 or more are accidental types of deaths.

8:26

And so what would happen is those types of death investigations where we go to a death investigation scene and we don't know what happened.

8:33

We may have, for example, a 35-year-old who just suddenly was found unresponsive at home with no significant medical history, and that's why we do an autopsy to determine what caused that person to die.

8:44

And so it's a variety of things that we will do in order to determine that cause of death.

8:49

For example, we take toxicology, we look at histology, which is sections of tissue to look at if there are any abnormalities in that tissue.

8:58

We look at genetic um information as well to see if that's something that we can share with the family that would allow them to look further and to prevent deaths in their families in the future.

9:10

So we do a variety of testing and things that would get us to the final cause and manner of death.

9:16

So all of those things will be filmed along the way to help the public understand what happens during the course of a death investigation and during the course of trying to determine the cause and manner of death outside of just performing an autopsy.

9:34

Thank you.

9:35

Thank you, Mr.

9:35

Chair.

9:36

Um and Madam Coroner.

9:38

I just want to say that I'm glad that the show is going to be highlighting the important work that you do for our community, um, something that probably most people don't think about unless they happen to have a level one that passes away and they come into contact with your office.

9:52

Um what I wanted what I was interested in knowing is how did how did Indianapolis, your office, get selected, and then is there a way that we can watch it, even though it's airing in the UK?

10:00

And then is there a way that we can watch it, even though it's airing in the UK?

10:03

Oh, thank you.

10:05

So I speak on many different levels at various conferences.

10:10

And someone that heard me speak about a death investigation case thought that it would be they were connected to a production company, this particular production company in the UK.

10:23

And initially they were going to they had looked at several different types of offices.

10:29

And because I knew this person, they asked me if I will be interested in participating based on the types of cases that we have, because we have a wide variety of cases, and based on you know, just the type of office layout that we have.

10:43

So we have well qualified forensic pathologists that are well respected who perform those autopsies, in addition to you know, just having the structure that we have in terms of how we conduct those death investigations to a national standard.

10:58

So it was brought to me from an intermediary that knew a production company that thought, hey, this might be a good opportunity for Indianapolis and Marion County and for the Mirror and County Coroner's office.

11:10

Um so that's how that came about.

11:12

Just being out in various forensic circles and people hearing me talk about our cases and the things that we do.

11:18

Um additionally, what was interesting is I didn't know that they had already researched our office before they even approached me about this opportunity.

11:27

And one of the things that they actually want to highlight is the community work.

11:32

It is important for me as coroner to educate our community, but also serve our community.

11:37

And so one of the things that, as you know, that we do is we do an unclaimed ceremony for those that have gone unclaimed for our office.

11:45

And they really found that fascinating that we do that for unclaimed deceitants as well as for babies that go unclaimed in our partnership with an organization called He Knows Your Name to give a final disposition and a final resting place for those that we serve as coroner cases.

12:00

And so that was one of the things that they really want to highlight as far as our community service work that we do with the coroner's office.

12:09

Thank you, Councillor.

12:10

Uh Council Wills.

12:12

Thank you, Mr.

12:13

Chairman.

12:14

And thank you, Madam Corner.

12:15

I you you hit the nail on the head because I at first was like, there's no way we would ever allow any kind of you know, um fodder of the documentary series to come into this world class office.

12:27

But the more that I learned about it, the more that you just so eloquently talked about that alignment, it makes sense that you were reached out to and and really I think your stewardship not only of the people that work under you but also of our families is probably exactly why the education purpose and making sure that the family has that peace of mind is something you do so well, so to showcase that.

12:50

Wow, what an honor.

12:51

So I'll definitely um be voting in support of that tonight.

12:55

Um, but just continue your leadership and to be a great steward as you go out and speak all across the country because families and other communities deserve it too.

13:05

So you're a great beacon and you represent us well.

13:07

Thank you so much.

13:09

Thank you, Councillor Council Alley.

13:12

Thank you, um, Mr.

13:14

Chair.

13:15

Um Madam Coroner, I am so impressed because you talked about serving.

13:20

And last summer, not only are you serving the coroner's office, but I've actually seen you out serving in the community, and you were helping, I think a relative or a friend at a food truck.

13:31

And so kudos to you.

13:33

I celebrate you for that because that lets me know that you know, as a leader, you have a servant heart as well.

13:40

Um, and I like the fact you know, you going around the country and you're able to speak about the work that you're doing, and others were able to see that the work that you're doing, and that it, you know, your heart is actually into not only representing the city of Indianapolis, but you're representing many families across Indianapolis.

14:00

Um, you mentioned about you know paying the staffers, so have you selected who's gonna be a part of the document documentary, or is the whole staff gonna be a part of the documentary?

14:13

Well, when I tell you the whole entire staff are excited about being a part of the documentary, I have great trust in my staff that they will represent me well, they will represent the city well, and they're all excited.

14:26

And so there's not necessarily pay for the staff, but in the event that you know there's overtime related to a particular case that goes over, then we can use those funds to pay for overtime for that particular case or that investigator who is working over to make sure that all of the pieces for that investigation are being completed and for filming purposes, right?

14:49

So that helps to offset the cost of overtime related to the docuseries.

14:54

So no particular person is going to be paid, but it will offset cost.

15:00

And all of the staff are excited to participate.

15:04

I can imagine so because I would be exciting, and I'm actually supp uh excited for you all.

15:10

Um one other ask that I do have is to make sure that you keep us connected as the timeline and when the release is gonna happen.

15:18

Um and I'm happy to support this.

15:21

Thank you.

15:22

I will.

15:22

I don't know much in terms of details as far as final edits and things like that, but surely we will have access like I do now to the airing in the UK of the current series.

15:33

So obviously there's going to be um there are going to be links and things like that that they will provide to us for all of us to, you know, in the US, in the USA, since it's cause of death USA to have access to to watch those the series of the Marion County Coroner's Office conducting these death investigations and contributing to this docuseries.

15:54

Thank you, Councillor.

15:55

Anyone in the audience could speak to this proposal about a corner proposal number 10?

15:58

Seeing that you're not any motion.

16:01

Second.

16:02

Most people probably move it and second it.

16:04

Um papers can find by saying aye.

16:07

Aye.

16:07

Those opposed?

16:08

Motion carries.

16:09

Thank you so much.

16:10

Thank you.

16:10

Appreciate you.

16:12

Committee committee members, we have a counselor uh here in the uh chamber with consent.

16:18

Like to move to proposal number 16, please.

16:22

Proposal number 16, 2026 amends the code to add the firefighters portion, uh the new section 25-310 entitled Parental Leave.

16:31

Councilor Brown.

16:36

Thank you, Ms.

16:37

Thank you, Mr.

16:38

Chair, Madam Vice Chair, can uh committee members.

16:41

I just ask that this proposal be pushed to February's committee meeting so the firefighters have a little more time to discuss uh with the admin and with council what they would like to proceed.

16:50

Thank thank you, Councillor the Bill.

16:51

The motion on the floor is there a second.

16:54

With consent, um is the first by saying aye.

16:58

Aye, those opposed.

16:59

Thank you, Councillor.

17:00

Thank you.

17:00

Thank you all.

17:01

Committee members, thank you so much.

17:02

Also, with consent, propos number 12.

17:04

We have IMPD here.

17:05

We need them out in the street keeping us safe.

17:07

So uh with consent, can we take proposal number 12, please?

17:11

Thank you.

17:11

Proposal number 12, 2026 determines the need for the IMPD uh lease, approximately 27,000 feet, square feet of office space at 414 North Keystone Avenue, DC Webington.

17:23

Welcome, sir.

17:24

Good evening, Mr.

17:25

Chairman and members of the committee.

17:27

Uh I can assure you you won't be as excited about this event as what you were the last one.

17:34

Uh it's kind of hard to follow Alfie on that.

17:37

Uh so I'm here tonight uh requesting uh authorization to renew a lease, though it is on paper as a new lease.

17:46

Uh we have occupied this building as a city-county entity since the early 2000s.

17:53

This is the uh old mainscape building at 4150 North Keystone.

17:58

Uh the Sheriff's Department first occupied it with the prosecutor's office and uh the family family advocacy center.

18:07

Um it's had a number of occupants.

18:10

All of the county entities left uh went to the CJC, vacated the space, and then we were the last remaining tenant for the city and county.

18:22

So back in 2021, we entered into our first lease agreement with the landlord.

18:28

Um it was done as a three-year lease to expire in 2024, and in 2024, we saw an opportunity to consolidate two of our other satellite facilities into one.

18:43

So we took three facilities and consolidated them into one, expanding our footprint by about 800 square feet and asking the landlord to do tenant improvements and construction work in order for them to agree to do that.

18:58

They wanted a five-year lease, new five-year lease.

19:02

And since that five-year lease was longer than the original term of the first lease, we have to uh treat it as a brand new lease.

19:10

So by uh ordinance and statute, uh we've had our public hearing uh at the public safety public office of public health and safety uh board member meeting.

19:23

Uh we're having this one, and then I go before the space utilization committee tomorrow uh as the final step.

19:32

We accumulated the necessary number of signatures uh for it to be a public lease.

19:37

We've uh publicly advertised it.

19:40

Uh we've we've gone through all of the uh technical steps, and this is uh for us to sign the five-year lease with one five-year option uh at that location.

19:53

I'd be happy to answer any questions.

19:55

Thank you, Deputy Chief.

19:56

Comments or questions?

19:57

Council Muscary.

20:00

Thank you.

20:00

Um other uh areas, don't we own the buildings?

20:05

And why are we not trying to buy the building instead of leasing it?

20:09

So this is a massive building, it's about a hundred thousand square feet.

20:12

Uh this is where the mainscape building, uh the state still occupies a portion of it.

20:18

Uh with us moving up the 800 square feet, we're about 30 percent occupant of the total space.

20:24

This has huge parking facilities.

20:27

Um it's it's way larger than what we need as a satellite facility.

20:32

Um, but with the restack here in the building, uh, with the closing with the eventual closing of downtown district, with rejocking everything between the CJC and and here and everything else, this is a good off-site location for us with a lot of parking accessibility to the victims, and um it it serves our needs, but that's why it's only a five-year with one five-year option because that's that's ultimately our goal is to consolidate facilities.

21:03

Thank you.

21:03

Thank you, Council Council Greeves.

21:06

Thanks, Mr.

21:06

Chair.

21:06

Keith Graves, the Indianapolis uh Council District 9 on the east side.

21:11

Thank you, uh Deputy Chief uh Wetherington.

21:14

Um curious to know what what this means for the future of North District's office, which is very close to this particular location.

21:22

So this actually doesn't house any of the personnel who currently work in North District or would work in North District.

21:30

These are two independent things.

21:32

Uh the North District facility at Washington Park.

21:36

Uh the council authorized uh a bucket of money for us to use for an exploratory committee.

21:43

Uh I serve on that committee uh and we are active uh pursuing that plan to build a new North District facility.

21:53

I can't speak for the controller, she's not here tonight, but I I think you will see uh proposal coming soon for uh what we've come up with.

22:03

We have uh scale drawings, we have needs analysis, we have plans, we have a site selection, um that will all be coming very soon.

22:13

I'm not sure the timeline of introduction.

22:17

Mr.

22:17

Chair, Council.

22:18

Uh thank you.

22:19

Uh thanks for the explanation.

22:21

Curious to know, do we have a lot of these satellite type offices across uh your your footprint?

22:28

So we have a few.

22:29

Um like I said, we've consolidated two into this.

22:34

So we had three.

22:35

Uh we were uh occupying the juvenile center at 25th and Keystone.

22:40

We had a few investigative units there, and we were occupying space at the Julian Center.

22:46

Uh so those two have been consolidated into this facility.

22:50

We are um we just renewed our lease at a different facility, uh, which is one of our uh undercover areas where all of our detectives, vehicles, um offices, everything else is held.

23:05

Uh so that's an off-site, and then we have uh one other off-site that is uh our logistics warehouse where we receive all things and we've got our EOD unit there.

23:18

Uh we store a lot of indoor our equipment indoors.

23:22

Um we have that one, and then we have uh the the ROC, the regional operations center, which is Eastgate.

23:31

All other properties are owned by the city and managed by building authority.

23:36

Thanks a lot.

23:37

Thank you, Council.

23:37

Council Delaney.

23:39

Thank you, Mr.

23:40

Chair.

23:41

Um I guess I have like a pretty basic question, which is does this lease save the county money by consolidating other leases?

23:50

Um and could you expand on that?

23:52

And then I have one follow-up.

23:54

Absolutely.

23:55

Um so we pay on average about a thousand dollars to twelve hundred dollars per location per month that we have an ISA network site.

24:06

Um we instantly went from three to one.

24:10

Uh we're already paying it anyway, so we were able to shut down those two.

24:13

So there's about 2,500 a month uh for those.

24:17

Janitorial services for three services or three locations uh versus one, uh, and then just the overall cost per square foot.

24:26

We were able to condense um the space we vacated at the juvenile center as well as at the uh Julian Center uh was far larger than the 800 square foot square feet that we grew with this lease.

24:43

Uh we reorganized, we built some walls, we tore down some walls, and we uh condensed our occupancy there.

24:51

So square footage occupied went down significantly, and then the cost per foot with this lease, uh it was a very uh aggressive lease from the landlord.

25:00

Uh it was a very uh aggressive lease from the landlord.

25:03

Um that building has a lot of vacancy.

25:05

Uh so we are below market rates on the initial term and then the subsequent terms.

25:11

So, yes, I believe it is a substantial savings.

25:14

That's great.

25:15

And may I ask me?

25:16

Thank you.

25:17

Um, I know there's been since the building of the CJC complex, there have been multiple agencies around the building moving back into the city county building, um, shuffling, uh, just all sorts of movement within the enterprise.

25:33

Was there any consideration about these pieces of IMPD coming back here to the city county building?

25:40

And and if so, why did you choose to stay out there?

25:45

So uh Ben Crawford, who's our city real estate manager, he and I are uh part of a committee uh for the restack of the city county building.

25:55

Um that's a very active plan managed by OFM uh to not only address the East Wing but the overall uh building as a whole.

26:05

Uh we are the goal is to bring downtown district back into the city county building.

26:12

That's one of our current leased facilities at Union Station.

26:16

Uh the plan is to vacate that space.

26:19

So by bringing that group in to the city county building, is uh introducing people that were never here, and that's a that's a big footprint.

26:27

So for right now, uh the only space we had available throughout all of the restructuring of the East Wing was to accommodate the downtown district coming back.

26:39

The other very limiting problem that we have, as you all know as you come to these meetings, is there's no parking here.

26:46

So for constituents to come for victims of crime, for um witnesses, et cetera.

26:53

It's it's not the best scenario to have to come through a metal detector, pay to park.

26:59

Um the space that we have in this particular lease where we have our sex crimes, our child abuse, um, domestic violence.

27:10

Those victims don't have to go through all of that to get here.

27:13

So that's why we believe this is a really good location.

27:16

Thank you for that.

27:17

I think that is important information.

27:19

So thank you.

27:20

Thank you, Counselor.

27:21

Distinct comments or question, counselors.

27:24

Anyone of the audience could speak to this proposal by the deputy chief.

27:28

Seeing no children take any motion.

27:29

So moved.

27:30

Motion probably moved and seconded uh for proposal number 12, 2026.

27:35

All those in favor by saying aye.

27:37

Aye.

27:38

Those opposed.

27:39

Motion carries.

27:39

Thank you, sir.

27:40

Thank you.

27:40

Appreciate it.

27:41

But isn't gentlemen, the last I'm on our agenda, proposal number 11, 2026, approves public purpose grants totally 200,000 from the drug-free community fund.

27:52

Executive director will be speaking to this.

27:53

We do have a hard copy in front of us, and we have an electronic copy in our emails.

27:58

Welcome, sir.

28:00

Good evening.

28:01

Welcome, Council members.

28:02

Michael Angel McClinton, the executive director for drug free Marion County, and the local coordinating council for the Marion County Provincial Alliance, which is the LCC for Marion County.

28:21

You just thought it we're we're good.

28:22

We have the hardware.

28:23

Okay, right ahead.

28:24

Thank you.

28:24

You're welcome.

28:25

So we'll start with the rejection structure of what our oversight and structure our structure is and how the coalition is functioning.

28:30

And we have that with our drug for Marion County being at the top of that.

28:34

The Mary County Prevention Alliance, which is the coalition made up of volunteers and people who serve in different sectors who will look at these entities and provide the data for the comprehensive community plan that we produce every year and that provide the eyes and the decision making for the grants and the fund allocations for these funds.

28:54

Drug Community County Service is the central coordinating body for the substance abuse prevention and intervention efforts in Marion County at the top of the organization hierarchy.

29:02

Drug Free Mary County provides strategic leadership, fiscal oversight, and compliance with the state and local guidelines incorporated under the drug for Marion County is married uh collaborative platform for community stakeholders to align resources and critical dimensions of substance abuse prevention and response.

29:18

The prevention and education committee led by Kyle Reikke, focuses on evidence-based educational programs, youth engagement, and public awareness campaigns to reduce risk factors and promote healthy behaviors.

29:29

The treatment and intervention committee, chaired by Bruce Kelly, prioritizes expanding access to treatment services, recovery housing, court-based interventions, ensuring individuals with substance use disorder receive comprehensive care.

29:41

The law enforcement and justice committee under the leadership of Mary Gaisel emphasizes the version of programs and locks on distriction and collaborative policy strategic strategies to reduce opiate related harm while maintaining public safety.

29:54

The organization chart visually represents the hierarchy of integration of drug community county, Mary County Provincial Alliance and its committees, highlighting leadership and roles response and responsibilities.

30:05

The funding overview and strategic context.

30:09

The mission of the Marin County Prevention Alliance funding recommendations represent the strategic investment public safety, health, and community resilience.

30:16

The total project funding across the categories amounts to approximately 200,000, 150 with the opiate, 150 with our LCC funds, and 50,000 from the opiate abatement fund.

30:27

And so that totals to 200 to 200,000.

30:30

Distributed among four critical areas, which is treatment and intervention, prevention and education, law enforcement and criminal justice, and the final man administration advocacy.

30:41

The categories that were funded, I will go through those with you guys.

30:46

Prevention education, the agencies that were funded and provided to that was provided from the coalition to be put up for funding.

30:56

We received about 10 applications across all three sectors.

31:00

And we had to reopen the application allocation because we did not receive enough funding applications for the opiate abatement allocation, and as well, there was no applications in criminal justice.

31:14

So we had to reopen our application process for another month, which expanded our regions back into Marion County and reopening that process.

31:21

We did receive six applications that was going up in front of the coalition to be considered for the abatement funds and the law enforcement criminal justice section.

31:31

Under provincial education, ambassadors of hope was awarded $16,661 of the opiate abatement fund.

31:38

Ambassadors hope will implement the teen-led peer support program for youth ages 12 to 17 who are experiencing high risk factors, including social isolation, exposure to violence, emotional distress, and increased vulnerabilities to substance misuse.

31:52

Funding will support harm reduction services, knocking distribution, overdose risk education, fit and all and counterpend counterfeit pill awareness, and guidance on how youth can access trusted adults and community resources.

32:05

These efforts will be focused in the following zip codes 46218, 46219, 4626, 46201, and 46235.

32:17

The second one under prevention education was the Cater Township Drug Free Coalition, was awarded 16,678 of the OPI Abatement Fund.

32:27

This investment will expand harm reduction outreach through What You Don't See Mobile Education Trailer Project, which provides overdose education, awareness programming, and on-site and our CAN distribution.

32:41

While the primary service area is the Cater Township, the trailer will also serve the broader Marion County community at local events, health care, and education venues.

32:49

An additional $572 in administration over support.

32:53

This project is allocated from the LCC grant fund.

32:56

The final approved application for award under the prevention education was John Bonner Community Center, which was allocated $16,089 from the LCC funds only.

33:08

Funding will support the edge program, which enhances protective factors for youth ages 6 to 12 by addressing early exposure to trauma and toxic stress, strengthening family bonding, increasing social capital, improving academic performance, and fostering validation and resilience.

33:23

These efforts aim to prevent early initiation of substance use and build a foundation for long-term well-being.

33:30

Under treatment and intervention, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office was awarded for 33,3939, all from the LCC fund.

33:41

The Marion County Drug Treatment Court and Re-entry Court case managers will continue implementing modified version of the APIC model access plan identify and coordinate as outlined in SAMHSA's best practice framework for jail to community transition for individuals with core court core occurring disorders.

34:00

This court program uses a non-adversarial team-based approach involving judges, prosecutors, public defenders, case managers, parole liaisons, and treatment providers.

34:10

Sustained funding will preserve proven programming that reduces specificism, alleviates jail overcrowding, and enhances public safety and reduces taxpayer costs.

34:18

The second funded under treatment and intervention was Pathways Recoveries Intensive Residential Support of Housing Program at $16,661 of the OPI Abatement Fund.

34:31

The 425 justice involved adult men enrolled in pathways entry level program.

34:38

Services include case management, substance use and mental health supports, employment placement assistance, healthy living and life skills training, goal planning, relapse prevention, housing placement, and aftercare.

34:51

The program includes recovery coaching, peer support, recovery services, addressing co-occurring conditions, and medication assisted treatment as appropriate.

35:00

And under law enforcement justice, the Marion County Sheriff's Office was 25,000 of the LCC fund only.

35:07

Funding will support the long-standing gun lock distribution program, initiated to reduce violence involving unsecured firearms and protect Indianapolis youth.

35:16

The program promotes firearm safety, responsible gun ownership, and public awareness by distributing gun locks through Indianapolis Public Library Systems to interested families and community members.

35:27

Second one under law enforcement justice was pathway to recovery supportive housing for the unhoused residents.

35:33

That was 25,000 of the LCC fund only.

35:36

This is upon support the pathway one entry level.

35:41

Residential program serving individuals who enter no with no financial resources.

35:46

Participants, many of whom face serious, often untreated mental and mental health and substance use disorders, receive subsidized housing and services for a minimum of 90 days to support stabilization, early recovery, employment preparation, and personal rebuilding.

36:01

These efforts also assist local law enforcement by providing a soft handoff option for in-house individuals with combined coral bed conditions who otherwise remain high risk at crisis or repeated system involvement.

36:14

And last was the administrative piece, which is the drug free Marion County, $50,000 for the LCC fund only.

36:20

This allocation supports the executive director's leadership of the local coordinated council and the Marion County Prevention Alliance.

36:26

Responsibilities include coalition management, regional prevention coordination, development of printing and educational materials, facilitation of every day.

36:37

Of community forums and public engagement, school churches, partner coalitions.

36:41

The exec director also ensures compliance with ICJI required reporting, including animal-driven data CCP or comprehensive community plan submissions, and quality performance reporting for all funded entities, ensuring accountability, transparency, and alignment with their legislation.

37:01

I believe you have the breakdown, and there's some explanation of how these awards and these funds will support the county's initiatives and alignment with the Indian Camilla Justice Institute expectations of my work as the executive director for drug for Marion County.

37:16

Good.

37:17

Yes, sir.

37:18

Thank you so much.

37:18

Thank you so much for your presentation.

37:20

And this is a hard cop.

37:21

I'm sorry, electronic copy in your files in your email as well, counselors.

37:25

Comments or questions.

37:27

Council Wills.

37:29

Thank you, Mr.

37:30

Chairman.

37:31

Was I correct in hearing there are still some funds that need to be applied for they've all been awarded?

37:38

Yeah, we can.

37:38

So if there's if we have a applications or applications, not if we didn't get enough applications to max out the funds, we don't close the fund.

37:46

We have to continue until the funds are exhausted, or their funds are or applications override the amount that we are allocated.

37:53

That's according to the justice institute.

37:55

So for instance, a couple years ago, we reopened the applications and that pushed our presentation here back into March, I believe.

38:03

So because we have to do that whole process.

38:06

So we try to get ahead of that every year to make sure that we're um getting the information out across Marion County.

38:12

I believe we have over a thousand of at least 1,500 individuals and agencies on our list served that's across Marion County.

38:20

So no, you're not your closed, no applications are being accepted.

38:25

Money is gone.

38:25

Okay, good.

38:26

Please don't have any both orders to be a thank you, Mr.

38:28

Chairman.

38:28

It's good to see these extra opioid funds doing good work in the community as well.

38:33

So thank you for your stewardship of those additional dollars.

38:36

We really appreciate your time and your presentation tonight.

38:39

Thank you, Mr.

38:39

Chairman.

38:40

Thank you, Counselor.

38:40

Additional comments.

38:41

Counselor Bain.

38:43

Thank you, Mr.

38:44

Chairman.

38:44

And I just wanted to say we appreciate the investment in the Decatur Township Drug Free Coalition that does amazing work done there.

38:51

Um they take their trailer.

38:53

Uh I feel like all over Central Indiana, but and it's a great resource for people outside Decatur, and it's a great burning opportunity for parents.

39:00

So if you have not toured their trailer, I would definitely recommend it.

39:04

Thank you, Councilor.

39:05

Anyone else?

39:07

Anyone in the audience care to speak to proposal number 11?

39:11

See no attraction motion.

39:13

So move.

39:14

Second.

39:14

Motion property moved and seconded.

39:16

All those in favor by saying aye.

39:18

Those opposed.

39:19

Motion carries.

39:20

Thank you, sir.

39:21

Thank you.

39:21

All take care of it.

39:22

Sitting on the arms on our agenda.

39:23

Ladies and gentlemen, we are adjourned.

39:24

Thank you, Councillors.

39:26

Thank you, committee members.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
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Public Health████████████████████████████████32%
Procedural██████████████14%
Transportation Safety██████████10%
Parking Management███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Indianapolis Public Safety Committee Meeting: January 15, 2026

The Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee of the City-County Council met on Wednesday, January 15, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the Public Assembly Room of the City-County Building. Chair Leoyer Robinson presided. The committee reviewed several proposals, including a grant for a documentary series on the Marion County Coroner's Office, a lease renewal for IMPD, and public purpose grants from the Drug-Free Community Fund. Two appointments were postponed, and a parental leave ordinance for firefighters was deferred.

Consent Calendar

  • Proposal 375-2025 (appointing Evan Sharon to the Juvenile Detention Center Advisory Board) was moved to the February 2026 meeting, as Mr. Sharon was absent.
  • Proposal 9-2026 (reappointing Robert Hammerley to the Marion County Public Defenders Board) was moved to the February 2026 meeting, as Mr. Hamlin could not be contacted.
  • Proposal 16-2026 (amending the city code to add a Parental Leave section for firefighters) was deferred to the February 2026 meeting on a motion by Councilor Brown to allow more time for discussion between the firefighters, administration, and council.

Discussion Items

  • Proposal 10-2026: Health First Indiana Initiative Grant Project – Marion County Coroner Alfarena Corner presented an opportunity for her office to participate in a documentary series called Cause of Death, which has aired for three seasons in the UK and is number one there. The series will focus on medical-legal death investigation, from initial notification to determination of cause and manner of death. The production company will pay the Coroner's office $60,000 in three deposits to offset staff time, administrative coordination, and operational impacts. An additional $5,000 comes from a Health First grant from the Marion County Public Health Department for gun safety and public health education. Filming begins in mid-February 2026 and will last four to five months, with the first series expected to air in the UK in July or August 2026. The Coroner emphasized that cases selected will be non-homicide and that families must consent. Several council members expressed strong support, praising the office's transparency, professionalism, and community service, including an annual unclaimed ceremony.

  • Proposal 12-2026: IMPD Lease at 414 North Keystone Avenue – Deputy Chief Webbington requested authorization to renew a lease for approximately 27,000 square feet of office space at the former Mainscape building (4150 North Keystone Avenue). The city-county has occupied the building since the early 2000s. In 2021, IMPD entered a three-year lease, and in 2024 they consolidated two other satellite facilities into this location, expanding their footprint by about 800 square feet. The new lease is for five years with a five-year option. The Deputy Chief noted substantial savings from consolidating three facilities into one (approximately $2,500/month in network site fees alone) and that the lease is below market rates due to building vacancy. The office houses sex crimes, child abuse, and domestic violence units, providing easier access for victims compared to the City-County Building. The city intends to eventually consolidate more facilities.

  • Proposal 11-2026: Public Purpose Grants from the Drug-Free Community Fund – Executive Director Michael Angel McClinton presented grants totaling $200,000 from the Drug-Free Marion County Fund (including $150,000 from the Local Coordinating Council and $50,000 from the Opioid Abatement Fund). Funds were distributed across four categories:

    • Prevention & Education: Ambassadors of Hope ($16,661), Decatur Township Drug Free Coalition ($16,678 plus $572 admin), John Bonner Community Center ($16,089).
    • Treatment & Intervention: Marion County Prosecutor's Office ($33,393), Pathways Recovery Intensive Residential Support ($16,661).
    • Law Enforcement & Justice: Marion County Sheriff's Office ($25,000 for gun lock distribution), Pathway to Recovery Supportive Housing ($25,000).
    • Administration: Drug Free Marion County ($50,000). The grants support teen peer support, harm reduction, youth programs, drug treatment court, recovery housing, gun lock distribution, and coalition management. Councilors praised the investments, particularly the Decatur Township Drug Free Coalition's mobile education trailer.

Key Outcomes

  • Proposal 10-2026 (Coroner's documentary grant) passed unanimously.
  • Proposal 12-2026 (IMPD lease renewal) passed unanimously.
  • Proposal 11-2026 (Drug-Free Community Fund grants) passed unanimously.
  • Proposals 375-2025, 9-2026, and 16-2026 were moved to the February 2026 meeting without opposition.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. It's uh 5 30 p.m. on Wednesday, January the 14th, 2026. We're in the public assembly room of the city county building. Welcome to the public safety and criminal justice committee of the city county council. Total introductions uh of our far left, uh counselor Michael Hart. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Michael Paul Hart, representing District 20. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Josh Bain, District 21. Thank you, Counselors. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Brian Mowra, District 25. Good evening, Chairman Robinson. Crystal Ewells, District 11, West Side. Thank you, Counselors. Counselor Perkins. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Dr. Carlos Perkins, District 6. Thank you, Mr. Chair Brienne Delini, District 2. Thank you, Mr. Chair Renee Allen, District 15. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Frank Biscarry, District 19, Southeast Side. Thank you, Counselors. I am Leoyer Robinson representing District 1, Chair of the Committee. The first agenda is proposal 375 2025 appoints Evan Sharon to the juvenile detention center advisory board. Mr. Sharon do communicate with us. He is uh out this evening as well. So he'll be here in February. So with consent, I'd like to move 375 to the next meeting in February. So move. Thank you so much. Uh also proposal number nine, 2026 reappoints Robert Hammerley to the Marion County Public Defenders Board. Uh is Mr. Hamlin present today. So we weren't able to get in touch with him for this evening. So we will move this to February as well with the other appointment with consent. We'll move proposal number nine, 2026 as well. Thank you. So those first two are moved to our February committee meeting. Thank you so much. Proposal number 10, 2026. And the Health First India Initiative Grant Project. Ms.

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