Indianapolis police have started arresting people at Lugar Plaza, which has stricter rules now that it’s been designated as a city park.
For some people, their arrest started because they were smoking. That’s against park rules in Indianapolis. You also can’t have alcohol or use “threatening or abusive language,” among other rules.
Officers discovered one man with a warrant for drug possession after initially stopping him because he was smoking a cigarette. He was one of six people arrested within a 24-hour period, according to a Facebook post from Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
On Feb. 27, Mirror Indy observed a woman arrested because of a warrant for driving with a suspended license. She also was originally stopped for smoking.
Other arrests, according to IMPD, have been related to drugs such as marijuana and methamphetamine.
Mayor Joe Hogsett signed an executive order Feb. 19 declaring Lugar Plaza a city park.
Some were quick to point out on social media that Lugar Plaza is a popular place for people experiencing homelessness. The 2-acre plaza is on the south side of the City-County Building and across the street from the Julia M. Carson Transit Center. Homelessness outreach groups know to go there for food distribution and other aid.
The uptick in enforcement comes at the same time that state lawmakers are making it illegal to use public land for long-term camping.
A spokesperson for Hogsett referred Mirror Indy to a social media post announcing Lugar Plaza as a park.
In addition to being stopped by police, people violating ordinances in city parks could face thousands of dollars in fines.
IMPD spokesperson Alexa Boylan told Mirror Indy that arrests at Lugar Plaza haven’t been directly related to homelessness.
“They could be unhoused,” she said, “but that’s not the reason we’re arresting them.”
Boylan said the park designation gives police “a little more teeth.”
“What we’re doing at Lugar Plaza is going after those engaging in criminal activity,” she said.
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Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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