Lacey Seizure Should Prompt Outrage

Jacob Lacey is over it, but we shouldn't be.

The Indianapolis Colts' second-year cover man said he was driving near Avon at noon when police stopped him, handcuffed him, and searched his vehicle. According to Lacey, his vehicle was surrounded by eight squad cars.

Lacey added that one officer told him he fit the description of a crime suspect, but when police found nothing (or when somebody realized they had a Colts player in cuffs without any probable cause), they left without any apology.

Curiously, neither the Avon PD nor the Hendricks County Sheriff's Office have record of it. Sergeant Linda Jackson with IMPD said "she had not heard" that IMPD was involved. (I am following up to find out for sure).

One of three things can be true: (1) Jacob Lacey is a pathological liar who felt the need to concoct a fantastic story just before a critical football game, knowing the distraction it could create for his team; (2) Lacey got the wrong police department (maybe IMPD was wrong or it was the Indiana State Police); or (3) a lot of law enforcement officers are engaged in a cover up in Hendricks County because they all realized they'd walked in it big time.

I'm opting for two or three, and while I applaud Lacey for not wanting to literally make a federal case out of this, somebody needs to investigate this further. But for the fact Lacey has the media's ear, nobody would blink on a story like this, and too many would assume the black person pulled over in the white suburb MUST have done something wrong.

We need to know what crime report police were allegedly responding to in their investigation, and if it comes back as just "black male," it will tell you why we still have two systems of justice in this country.

Sadly, "driving while black" isn't anything new; it's expected, and that's the most distressing part of the this story. The reason Lacy has already moved on? In his words, "it's not my first go-round."

Maybe not, but it should be his last.

Lacey Seizure Should Prompt Outrage

Public Safety Mayor Diverts Funds, and I Know Why!

The Indianapolis Star reports today that money for 100 new IMPD officers has been diverted by Mayor Ballard to pay for "needs not covered in the 2008 budget: retirement benefits, contractual raises, overtime, and fuel.

Retirement benefits are unavoidable, but a Mayor not beholden to the FOP would grandfather in existing officers (if this hasn't already been done) and ditch pensions for all new classes just like private sector employers have done in favor of individual savings retirement accounts. Contractual raises are the same. You have to pay them through the contract term, but mayors not beholden to the FOP need not keep offering them every election cycle as a quid pro quo for an endorsement.

But overtime and fuel are things you CAN control, and I learned something fascinating the other day talking with four IMPD officers. Last year, IMPD officers would attend "roll call" every other month. Now these officers attend EVERY DAY. These officers disclosed that these roll calls are at least 30 minutes in length, and they have to drive THROUGH their particular beats to get to the roll call, meaning there are additional fuel costs. None of these officers could explain why they have roll call every day, though two offered that they believe the higher ups think closer eyes make it less likely that they'll get in trouble. Great! Now we're paying overtime and fuel so IMPD can be babysat? One laughed that higher ups think an officer might confess to a rape or disclose that he's tipping off drug dealers if they have to go to roll call every day.

Having grown up with Hill Street Blues and having watch "muster" on The Wire, I asked whether they received some real good "intelligence" at these meetings. All the officers said no. They said they are more likely to get a report about lady whose cat keeps running away than they are to get substantive information that assists "crime fighting." All the officers stated that there is no information they receive that they can't get by e-mail.

These officers stated that this daily roll call requirement is uniformly viewed as pointless and has caused a huge decrease in morale. As I sat there, two of the officers talked about going to other police departments.

My thought is this. Maybe we could hire a few more officers if we didn't have so much time wasted with mandatory roll calls and so much gas wasted getting there. Also, if we relieved our officers of pointless administrative burdens, maybe we wouldn't need to keep raising the salaries to keep them. If the Mayor is worried about his officers' honesty, increase the polygraphs and let the rest of the force get back on the street.

Public Safety Mayor Diverts Funds, and I Know Why!