IMPD chief details changes department has made in past year

INDIANAPOLIS — The calls for change came from the people and protests on the streets of Indianapolis in May 2020.

There were clashes of ideas and voices demanding that power brokers find new ways to deal with critical issues, especially the relationship between the public and police.

Since the summer of 2020, IMPD has made major changes to improve transparency and accountability. The department issued General Order 132 listing the dos and don’ts of using a Taser or chemical sprays. General Order 130 and its five pages detail the new expectations, including the appropriate use of force and no chokeholds.

“We took away the chokeholds. We don’t train chokeholds. I won’t say that chokeholds didn’t necessarily occur, but it wasn’t part of the policy,” IMPD Chief Randal Taylor said.

Taylor has also overseen the deployment of body-worn cameras. He also created a system in which select members of the public see body cam videos of police-involved shootings and provide input before they are released.

Civilians will also have critical roles in reviewing police-related shootings and in creating the policies that drive the department.