Mayor Joe Hogsett plans to appoint a new police chief by early next year, a city spokesperson told Mirror Indy, just as the mayor begins his third term.
The next police chief will be Hogsett’s fourth since taking office in 2016.
Hogsett initially declined to give a timeline for the search to replace Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Randal Taylor, who last week announced he will step down but stay with IMPD in an undefined role.
Hogsett appointed Taylor as chief on New Year’s Eve in 2019. Taylor originally joined the Marion County Sheriff’s Department in 1993 and transitioned to IMPD following the partial merger in 2007.
The department can point to some bright spots under Taylor’s leadership. IMPD rolled out body cameras for officers less than a year into his tenure and in 2021 established a board to review uses of force.
But the department has struggled in several other areas.
Hundreds of vacancies are nagging the department despite repeated raises and bonuses to spur new applications. And the department is still trying to reform its standing in the eyes of the community since the 2020 protests and riots in Indianapolis following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
Those efforts have been dampened by several incidents captured on video, such as a police sergeant stomping on the face of a man near Monument Circle and the in-custody death of Herman Whitfield III, who was experiencing a mental health crisis when police used a stun gun on him.
And those are just some of the challenges awaiting the next chief.
“The next police chief needs to understand where we are in the moment,” said Lionel Rush, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, a clergy advocacy group.
Whoever the next chief is will take over a department with a souring image amid a perceived lack of accountability that’s been fueled by a surge in police shootings.
The need for trust and a clear vision
Black faith leaders have been among the most vocal in pushing for accountability.
Now, with a new chief on deck, some clergy and advocates say the next leader should have a clear vision to address the challenges ahead.
The Rev. David W. Greene Sr. said the next chief needs to recognize that talking about building relationships between the community and IMPD won’t be meaningful while police shootings are on the rise.
“It doesn’t work that way,” said Greene, who is president of the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, which this year called for Taylor to resign.
Especially troubling to Greene was when officers shot a man who was in a tree on the north side in October. The man died two days later.
There have been 18 police shootings this year as of Dec. 19, an IMPD spokesperson confirmed. That includes when officers fired their weapons at someone but missed.
As a comparison: Under Taylor’s predecessor, former Chief Bryan Roach, there were 18 police shootings across three years.
The next chief will also have to navigate the implications of people no longer being required to have a permit to publicly carry a handgun. Indiana’s permitless carry law took effect in 2022, a year after IMPD expanded a regional task force to help police track weapons and suspects involved in violent crimes.
Who’s next in line?
The obvious person to become chief is Assistant Chief Chris Bailey, who has spent most of his career as an Indianapolis police officer and now works as the No. 2 to Taylor.
His selection would follow recent history. For the last two picks, Hogsett tapped assistant chiefs who had significant experience in local law enforcement.
Bailey declined to comment. The city spokesperson wouldn’t say whether the mayor is considering outside candidates.
Regardless of who the next chief is, Josh Riddick said there’s an opportunity to include the community in setting a long-term vision for IMPD.
“If we’re committed to a department that has a plan and a strategy that is collectively owned,” said Riddick, an organizer with Faith in Indiana’s Black Church Coalition, “whoever the chief is can be successful.”
That’s an area where Faith in Indiana has found success with the department by leading calls for IMPD to establish a clinician-led crisis response team for mental health calls.
But setting high expectations isn’t just about pressure from the community.
The mayor, Riddick said, needs to also make that a clear priority.Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers economics. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick.
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