IMPD: Witnesses Needed for July 5 Shootings
INDIANAPOLIS — “Really, if it’s gonna be successful, it takes voluntary compliance.”
That’s how Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Chris Bailey described the department’s approach to youth safety following a July 5 incident that left two teenagers dead downtown. Nearly three months later, the case remains unsolved.
Bailey spoke Thursday at IMPD’s Downtown District annual Community Day about enforcing the teen curfew, lessons from that night, and preparations for upcoming summer events.
“There’s always gonna be more people violating the law than there are cops to arrest them,” Bailey said. “When you have to take that action, those officers are out of service. So we’re looking for voluntary compliance—we want our kids to be safe.”
City officials and police have increased messaging about the curfew after a rise in juvenile disturbances downtown. The curfew requires those under 15 to be off the streets by 11 p.m., and those 15-17 by 1 a.m., unless accompanied by a guardian.
Bailey said most juvenile incidents now occur just after curfew, sometimes spilling into the early morning and involving young adults.
“Fights at bars, people being intoxicated, bumping into someone, and some kind of conflict that ends in gunfire,” he said. “There’s still a lot more work to do.”
The July 5 shootings stretched the department. Even with officers on duty, the number of disturbances made it hard to prevent violence, with fights and crowds requiring responses across downtown.
“What we didn’t anticipate is the number of disturbances we were chasing around all night long,” Bailey said. “Next year, we need to message better ahead of time about what we’re doing, what the expectations are, and how we’re going to respond.”
Part of the plan may include confronting known troublemakers early in the season with clear warnings that misbehavior won’t be tolerated.
Bailey praised the city’s real-time crime center and surveillance, noting it helps prevent and solve incidents. On the July 5 killings, he said technology has limits.
“Technology, forensics—those things can only take you so far. Either you have that forensic or video evidence, or you don’t,” he said. “If we had it in this case, I think we’d have already solved it by now.”
The case depends on eyewitnesses, Bailey said. “Someone saw something. Maybe they have video on their own cameras that we don’t. That’s what it’s going to take.”
He added that while policing strategies will evolve, adults supervising Indianapolis youth also share responsibility.
IMPD: Witnesses Needed for July 5 Shootings was originally published on wibc.com
