A panel charged by Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry with studying police reform and racial justice continues to have tough conversations in the wake of last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests. If survey responses of Hoosiers statewide are any indication, the commission should find broad support for recommended reforms.
The Hoosier Survey, conducted annually by Ball State University’s Bowen Center for Public Affairs, reveals strong support for changes in policing. Respondents were presented with a list of four proposals and asked whether they favor or oppose each.
• 88% favor training police in nonviolent alternatives to deadly force
• 82% support creating a government database to track police officers accused of misconduct
• 63% support giving civilian oversight boards the power to investigate and discipline officers accused of inappropriate use of force or other misconduct
• 56% support making it a crime for police to use chokeholds or strangleholds
The proposals regarding training and a misconduct database received support across all demographic and party affiliations.
“The proposal for stronger civilian oversight is supported by 86% of Democratic respondents and 92% of African American respondents,” according to the survey, which was released Thursday. “It was supported by only 40% of Republicans and 59% of non-Hispanic white respondents.”
The 15-member Mayor’s Commission on Police Reform and Racial Justice has engaged in thoughtful and sometimes difficult conversations since it began meeting in mid-July. It was established after downtown protests following the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd ended in violence. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit alleging law enforcement officers violated protesters’ First and Fourth Amendment rights during protests held from May 29 to 31 and on June 14.
Separately, the civil rights organization is suing on behalf of Balin Brake, a student who lost an eye after being struck by a tear gas canister fired by police. Both cases are pending.
At a police reform and racial justice commission meeting Dec. 4, members discussed efforts to increase transparency, with some questioning why the Fort Wayne Police Department has not addressed its procedures since the protests occurred.
City Attorney Carol Helton said it is standard practice to withhold comment on any matter involved in litigation but said there had been lessons learned.
“This was an unprecedented event,” she said. “We certainly had no experience in handling this kind of civil unrest. Our public safety response team, which was formed in 2015, (is) well-trained; they are well-equipped. But they had never actually responded to this type of unrest.”
But commission chairman Michelle Chambers and panel members Marty Pastura and Anne Epling pushed for the police department to share more information about changes it might have made in its procedures as a result of the protests.
“If we’re here saying we need more transparency, and it’s obvious there isn’t transparency, I see that as a dilemma,” said Pastura, the retired Fort Wayne YMCA executive director.
“I feel like we haven’t addressed that – that how the police responded wasn’t right,” Epling said. “I feel like we’re dancing around that. And I’m frustrated.”
Chambers said Thursday the commission reached out to the community in its work and she expects to see support for its proposals.
“There’s a lot on the table,” she said. “My goal was to capture the community’s concerns.”
The panel’s recommendations to the mayor, expected early next year, will address the police department’s compliance with the “8 Can’t Wait” initiative, which covers eight police reforms. A ban on chokeholds and steps to reduce the use of lethal force are among them.
The Hoosier Survey results show the public wants to see such reform. The city commission can move forward with confidence that its efforts have strong citizen support.
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