New Police Chief Christopher Bailey talks about goals for Indianapolis
Christopher Bailey, a 25-year IMPD veteran and former interim police chief, was announced as the new police chief by Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett.
A new bureau within the Indianapolis Police Department will aim to better respond to mental health crises among city residents, according to plans unveiled Wednesday.
The Office of Management and Support will bring some of the city’s social welfare-related departments under its jurisdiction. Police said in a news release that the purpose is to improve the response to mental health calls, while also serving as a centralized hub to coordinate resources.
This is the latest structural change for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department under new Chief Chris Bailey.
“We need to make sure we get the message out internally and externally about how important[mental health]is, and that’s why we’re doing that by creating our own bureau and having people at the command level,” Bailey said. said.
Bailey previously said that police departments have been taking mental health-related calls for years, with only 20% of calls to the department being related to actual law enforcement issues, and the remaining 80% being handled by officers. We assume that this is due to a problem that is not intended for the user.
What does the Operations Support Bureau oversee?
The department works with the police department’s Mobile Crisis Assistance Team, commonly referred to as MCAT, to dispatch mental health physicians to specific calls with police officers and homeless assistance units.
Its staff will also work with the city’s clinician-led community response teams, the Department of Public Health and Safety and other mental health providers.
Our clinician response team operates on a 24/7 schedule in downtown and east Indianapolis.
Indianapolis park rangers, public safety officers and welfare officers will also be placed under the department.
Why was the Bureau established?
Bailey said that while serving as interim chief, addressing the growing mental health concerns in the community has become a priority.
He said merging the homeless force and MCAT would streamline the city’s response.
“The goal is to more efficiently respond to and prioritize mental health incidents by integrating resources and fostering collaboration,” the department said in a news release.
Who will oversee the station?
A 21-year veteran of the Indianapolis Police Department was selected for the job.
Maj. Tabitha McLemore has been appointed to oversee the new office. McLemore previously helped run the department’s Homeless Task Force, Downtown District Detectives and Downtown Violent Crime Task Force. In November 2021, she managed the Mobile Crisis Support Team and worked with the Homeless Unit.
She serves as Vice Chair of the Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Advisory Committee. In addition, McLemore was asked by the National Institute of Justice to serve on its committee on homelessness and law enforcement.
Mr. McLemore began his career in the East Precinct and then moved to the Vice/Human Trafficking Unit, where he worked undercover for eight years.
Bailey said the intent of creating the position was to allow someone at the command level to work with agencies outside the department, completing tasks previously performed by the deputy chief.
He also hopes the Office of Business Support will provide more information to the public about the 988 Mental Health Line and explore further training in-house if other departments have success with the mental health response model.
Past calls for changes to Indianapolis’ mental health response
In recent years, there has been a surge in calls for changes in the way the city approaches mental health.
In 2022, after Herman Whitfield III, a black man suffering from an apparent mental health crisis in his home, was taped, handcuffed, and forced face down to the ground by Indianapolis police officers, he died. This criticism was widely reported.
In the weeks after Whitfield’s death, advocates called for the rapid deployment of a team of clinicians to respond to certain 911 calls instead of police.
The demand resurfaced last year after a series of shootings by Indianapolis police, some of which injured or killed people with mental health issues. A group of clergymen went so far as to demand the resignation of former police chief Randall Taylor in the wake of the shooting. They cited Mr. Whitfield’s death as a contributing factor to their call. Critics of the Indianapolis Police Department’s response to mental health calls are refraining from commenting until they understand the police better.
When two of the officers who responded to Whitfield’s home that morning were charged last year with involvement in her death, the head of the local police union called for an immediate response to the police response to a mental health crisis. I asked them to cancel it. IndyStar asked the union for comment on the new station.
Other appointments were also announced to round out IMPD’s new leadership.
Mr. Bailey was also appointed commander. Nicole Pilkington became the South West District Commander and Lieutenant Geoffrey Silcox became the Training Academy Commander and Commanding Officer. Michael Leeper as East District Commander.
Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com.
