Grant Funded Patrol Yields Positive Results

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(top) Sgt Matt Grimes (right) gives assignments during the 2pm roll call.

(middle) Eli Raisovich and Danny Reynolds patrol on bikes donated by the Near North Development Corp.

(bottom) Officer Jackie Stackman (yellow Tshirt) danced with kids at the July 30 Community Day.

Photos by Jay Thompson
(posted August 13)

August 8 was a day to weed out crime in the Eagledale - Lafayette Square Area Weed and Seed District. Major Paul Ciesielski, Neighborhood Resource Officer Sgt. Matthew Grimes, six bike units and three patrol officers canvassed the area bordered by 56th Street, 38th Street, Moller Road and I-465. The officers were working a special patrol detail funded by a Department of Justice Weed and Seed grant.

The position of Neighborhood Resource Officer was carried over from its creation under the old Indianapolis Police Department to build community policing. Grimes waves to residents as he drives in the neighborhoods to let them know the police are patrolling the area.

Grimes has seen some positive changes, such as reduced graffiti tagging, since patrolling has increased in the Gateway West subdivision. He said the prosecutor's office recently had a graffiti cover-up day in the neighborhood. The quicker the graffiti can be painted over the less likely gangs will continue to tag the area.

Gateway Drive is heavy with traffic and Grimes was parked less than a minute when a car ran a stop sign. The failure to stop left the driver walking home. Grimes issued a summons arrest because the driver did not have a driver's license, only a Mexican Consulate ID card. Grimes found a fake Social Security card while doing the inventory search to impound the car. Grimes had the car towed after giving the driver a chance to call someone to drive the car from the scene. The driver was not the car's owner, which had Ohio plates. Grimes said Ohio plates are common because of the ease of registration. He said the owner will have to come to Zore's with proof of insurance to have the car released.

Bike patrol officers are not doing heavy, strenuous riding. Grimes said the idea is to move slowly to see more detailed activities in the neighborhood and to be approachable to residents, since the officers are not isolated by being inside a patrol car. Officers Danny Reynolds and Eli Raisovich were patrolling on bikes in the Emerald Green Apartments because of recent robberies in the area. Raisovich, in his fifth year riding a bike, rides one to two hours a day. He joined the bike patrol because it's a good crime fighting tool.

Reynolds said the bike is replacing the foot pursuit. He said the bike offers different "tactics" that people don't expect. It is the unexpected gives the officers the advantage. While Grimes was citing the driver with the Ohio plates, a second bike team was towing a car after making a traffic stop.

While patrolling Three Fountains Apartment Complex, Grimes spotted a car parked in front of a fire hydrant. Grimes knocked on the apartment unit to ask them to move the car. He wanted the residents to know the police are watching the area. He said the "major complaint" from residents is that they don't see officers out patrolling.

Officers Mark Ayler and Mike Neathery stopped a driver for failure to use a turn signal while entering the Falcon Creek condos. The simple traffic infraction turned into an arrest when the suspect dropped marijuana and a handgun while exiting the car.

While leaving the condos, Grimes cited a lady for failure to wear her seat belt. The infraction was a $25 fine and no points against the driver's license. His reason for issuing the citation is to serve as good safety reminder to start buckling up. He said that he has "seen too many faces against windshields" in his career. "Seat belts do work." Ironically, the driver was a BMV employee who told Grimes that she reminds people to wear seat belts on a daily basis as part of her job.

The four hour neighborhood sweep resulted in the following stats:

Felony Arrests -1
Summons Arrests - 4
Warrant Arrests - 2
Guns Seized - 1
Vehicle Stops - 15
Traffic tickets - 6
Warnings - 4
Vehicles Towed - 3
Reports - 7
Pedestrian Stops - 26
Runs Primary - 10
Runs Assist - 7
Special patrol areas visited - 30
Vehicles Tagged - 1
Regular Hours Used - 8
Overtime Hours Used - 24.5

IMPD reaches out to the community with other forms of community policing by participating in the National Night Out and district hosted Community Days. Neighborhood crime watch members have cookouts and officers attend to meet with residents. Grimes said that 12 crime watch neighborhoods held cookouts this year.

IMPD Community Days provide another opportunity to develop rapport with officers. Mayor Greg Ballard visited with law enforcement officers and residents at the recent Northwest district event. Officer Jackie Stackman danced with children and Colts cheerleaders as a DJ played music for the crowd.

The day provided levity and humor as Major Ciesielski quipped that he was not worried about losing Stackman to the "Dancing with The Stars" TV show after watching her dance.