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Committee approves pilot letting homeowners hire off‑duty officers to enforce traffic on private roads
Summary
After negotiations and testimony from homeowners, police chiefs and sheriffs, the committee passed an amended pilot (HB1155) that allows homeowners associations to hire off‑duty officers to enforce Indiana law on designated private roads for a trial period and requires reporting by sheriffs, prosecutors and Indiana State Police; amendment includes signage, vehicle‑marking and training standards and sets an expiration date for the pilot.
Representative Salaide introduced House Bill 11‑55 and a chairman’s strip‑and‑insert amendment that creates a pilot program allowing private communities to hire off‑duty law‑enforcement officers to enforce Indiana law on designated private roads for the pilot’s duration. The amendment makes the pilot a time‑limited program (expiration July 1, 2028), requires reporting from sheriffs, prosecutors and the Indiana State Police on stops, backups and arrests, and directs that signage and vehicle markings conform to INDOT standards.
Lindsey Moss Willie, representing the Lakes of the Four Seasons Property Owners Association, told the committee the subdivision has 26 miles of private roads and chronic speeding and supports the pilot as a practical safety solution. “We fully support it, and we are happy and looking forward to reporting back, with the results of this pilot program,” she said.
Stephen Flores, chief of police in Saint John and vice president of the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police, said the association moved from neutral to support after negotiated changes but raised operational concerns about how non‑traffic encounters (for example, evidence of other crimes or fatal incidents) would be handled, where body‑camera footage and records would be stored, and how public‑records requests would be processed.
Speakers and committee members clarified that off‑duty officers retain their police powers when hired for special duty, that the pilot does not create an HOA police department, and that off‑duty engagements should follow the employing law‑enforcement agency’s procedures for reports and evidence handling. The Indiana Sheriffs Association said negotiated language addressed most concerns.
The committee agreed to add prosecutors and the Indiana State Police to the reporting requirement, took the amendment by consent, and voted to pass the bill as amended. The roll call showed the measure passed 11–0 (several members excused). The chair adjourned the committee.
