TenPoint Coalition, churches to walk with downtown crowds this weekend

INDIANAPOLIS — Indy metro police and its community partners will be supported by up to 70 pairs of boots on the ground from dozens of Indianapolis churches and the TenPoint Coalition, which will walk downtown this weekend to act as intermediaries with youth crowds that may swell the heart of the city.

The additional support was announced during a news conference on Thursday morning, where Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Chris Bailey joined senior pastors and faith leaders of the TenPoint Coalition. The coalition is a volunteer group that makes efforts to reduce violent crime in the Indianapolis area through patrols.

Indiana State Police troopers will also be on hand this weekend as IMPD enforces the city’s curfew ordinance of 11 p.m. for anyone 15 years and younger and 1 a.m. for 16- and 17-year-olds.

The City-County Council is also considering an ordinance to tighten up those hours. The curfew was put in place in the first place due to several shootings involving juveniles have occurred this month in downtown Indianapolis, including one on July 5 that resulted in the deaths of two juveniles.

Youth advocates have already said they will be on hand should IMPD process any juveniles to a reunification center to await pick up by their parents or other adults.

”We will deploy six patrol teams downtown to help in hot spot areas that have been identified by IMPD. These patrol teams specialize in intervention and de-escalation,” said Reverend Charles Harrison of TenPoint. ”Our goal as all of us come downtown on Saturday is to help defuse any potential conflicts among juveniles and young adults so that the weekend downtown will be peaceful and a safe environment for all.”

Police, politicians, neighborhood leaders and the faith-based community have agreed it is unfair to put all the blame on teenagers who flood downtown on weekend summer nights without adult supervision.

”I have a message for our adults: they learn their behavior from you,” said Chief Bailey. “When we see adults acting the way they do in the core of our city and in neighborhoods all over our city, we ask ourselves, ‘Why do our kids act the way they do?’”

While there are no penalties for adults or children out after curfew, Bailey said repeat offenders could be subject to no trespass or stay away orders and parents of children caught with weapons could be referred to the Marion County Prosecutor for neglect charges.

Bailey lamented the post-Fourth of July fireworks shooting that left five people wounded and two teenagers dead beneath the Arts Garden at Illinois and Washington streets.

”Maybe this was the call. Maybe this was the wake-up because we’ve lost a lot of kids in our city. Maybe this was the one,” said the chief. “These were the two young men that turned the corner for everyone to say, ‘Now’s the time. No more. No more. Not here.’”

Bailey has met with private property and business operators downtown who he said are likewise frustrated by the late-night violence.

”There are a lot of questions about what good are having these establishments open until three am? I don’t create the laws but we have to ask ourselves, what good is it to have a bar open until three am? Consistently, we see those issues,” he said. ”Especially in confined areas like downtown which is a small geographic area which is crammed with five, six, seven, eight nightclubs that all empty at the same time. People are obviously inebriated and then they congregate on sidewalks to get something to eat out of an unregulated food truck or food vendor blocking the sidewalk, which also causes issues.”

Bailey said he forwarded to the mayor’s office draft language of a proposed ordinance that would regulate food vendors and trucks that operate on sidewalks and curbs until early morning, feeding customers leaving bars at closing time when gun violence typically breaks out.

Ultimately, Rev. Harrison said that the coalition encourages young people to “be down there and have a good time” but without the violence.

This additional support from the TenPoint Coalition comes on the heels of Indiana Gov. Mike Braun joining in on the conversation surrounding the violence in downtown Indianapolis.

In a news conference on Wednesday, Braun said that Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears “shoulder near full responsibility.” Braun also praised the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, stating that they are doing their job.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has charged several individuals in relation to the recent downtown violence, including several juveniles being charged with criminal recklessness and other firearms charges.

Officials with the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police are also expected to respond to Braun’s comments during a seperate news conference on Thursday afternoon.

In a news release announcing that conference, Rick Snyder, the president of the organization, said that he appreciates Braun for “his leadership and frank observations.” Snyder said that the FOP will “outline issues” for the state to consider moving forward.