Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Law Enforcement Training Marion County topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee delays bill on Marion County training; stakeholders agree on local academy with ILEA syllabus
Summary
Senate Bill 525, addressing Marion County law enforcement training and local academy accreditation, was held for an agreed amendment to let Marion County operate its own training academy using the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy syllabus; committee members said hiring and merit board issues must be resolved before final approval.
Representative Zachary Ireland presented Senate Bill 525 to the House Veterans Affairs Committee, describing the measure as a targeted response to Marion County’s post-Unigov law enforcement structure and the need to align training options for the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Ireland said the bill “says that both IMPD and the Marion County Sheriff's Office would be subject to training that is certified by ILEA but done here in Marion County specific to Marion County's needs.” He framed the proposal as a technical fix to allow locally-delivered, ILEA-accredited training to serve Marion County’s needs.
Sheriff Forsall testified about the local history and operational need for deputies to access training. He said he supports parity with other counties: “If we would have the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Academy ... I have no objection to that,” and asked the committee to allow deputies to continue attending the ILEA while Marion County establishes any new merit board or local academy so hiring is not delayed.
Mike Bieberstein of Frost Brown Todd, representing the Indiana Sheriffs' Association, testified in opposition to the current version of the bill and said the association and other stakeholders had negotiated terms. Committee staff and members reported an agreement among stakeholders to adopt an amendment allowing Marion County to establish its own academy that would adopt the ILEA syllabus and be accredited by ILEA; under that agreement Marion County could continue to use the state academy until the local program is accredited.
Committee leadership said they would return with a formal amendment reflecting the stakeholders’ agreement and hold the bill until that amendment is presented. The chair closed the hearing saying stakeholders would reconvene and the bill will be brought back with agreed language; no committee vote on final passage occurred at this hearing.
The committee’s planned amendment, as described by members and stakeholders at the hearing, would permit a Marion County training academy that follows the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy curriculum and receives accreditation. Stakeholders emphasized the need to avoid a hiring freeze that would result from requiring a merit board to be in place before deputies can be trained or hired.
Representative Ireland and Sheriff Forsall said they expect to return to the committee with the agreed amendment and additional legislative language addressing merit board timing and hiring continuity.
