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Residents and councilors urge action after late-night child found, speeding complaints and disputed exclusion from car-show meeting
Summary
At the June 24 meeting councilors and residents raised safety concerns after a 3-year-old was found at a doorstep in the middle of the night, a councilor said he was asked to leave a car-show planning meeting as a "security risk," and a resident urged speed enforcement and solar speed signs on Wheeler Road.
Councilors and residents used the June 24 Lawrence Common Council meeting to press for stronger neighborhood safety and clearer explanations of recent police and administration actions.
Councilor Wells recounted a constituent report that a 3-year-old autistic child was found at a front door about 1 a.m.; police responded and the family later located the child. Wells said he had follow-up questions about whether officers confirmed the child was returned to the correct people and voiced frustration that he had not received timely answers from the department. He said the incident was especially painful because his family previously lost a toddler in a drowning.
Wells also said he and a volunteer were told to leave a car-show planning meeting and that Deputy Chief and Erica Snyder told him he was a "security risk." He asked why a longtime council member would be treated that way and pressed the administration to stop letting personality conflicts interfere with council work. "How is it that a 65-year-old ... and same person that has served on this council for more than 10 years ... deemed a security risk," Wells said.
The chief of staff responded that, "the way it was explained to me was that you they didn't ask you to leave because you were a security risk. It was because they were only talking about security issues related to the car show and not the details of the car show itself." The chief offered to help arrange a three-way call with Assistant Chief Klein or to follow up if Klein did not reply to Wells by the next day.
Residents also raised traffic-safety concerns. Charles Turner, a Wheeler Road resident, said the posted 25 mph limit is not being observed and that he had tried contacting the mayor's office and IndyGo without a lasting response. He recommended temporarily deploying solar-powered speed-display signs for two weeks to warn drivers and then following up with enforcement and citations, saying the goal was to reduce the chance of a tragedy.
Councilor Freeman earlier reminded the public that children are out of school and urged drivers to watch for kids chasing balls into streets in neighborhoods including Welker Drive, Bartley, Kenilworth and 52nd Street.
What’s next: Administration pledged to seek answers about the car-show meeting and to have Assistant Chief Klein follow up; residents asked for visible traffic-calming measures and enforcement on residential streets.
