Board of Police Commissioners

BROWNSBURG METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT Joseph A. Grimes Office: (317) 852-1109 Chief of Police Fax: (317) 858-2023 BROWNSBURG POLICE COMMISSION MINUTES These are the Minutes of the regularly scheduled meeting of the Brownsburg Police Commission held at the Brownsburg Town Hall on March 8, 2022 at 6:04PM. MEMBERS PRESENT: Ray Kotarski, Paul Whalen, Allan Bolante and Tim Cooper ALSO PRESENT: Chief Joseph Grimes, Major Andy Watts, Major Bryan Fultz, Attorney Jayson Marksberry and Secretary Kellie Cummins ABSENT: Brian Jessen _______________________________ Paul Whalen gave the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Roll Call was conducted. Brian Jessen was absent but quorum was formed. Ray Kotarski requested a motion to approve the agenda. Allan Bolante made a motion to approve the agenda as posted. Tim Cooper seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0. Ray Kotarski requested a motion to approve the minutes from the February 8, 2022 Police Commission meeting. Paul Whalen made a motion to approve the minutes as submitted. Allan Bolante seconded the motion. Motion carried 4-0. OLD BUSINESS CHIEF OF POLICE Chief Grimes updated the group on the status of the current department budget. Chief said that the budget is currently below projection by approximately $50,000 compared to last year. Chief said that the department remains on track for the 2022 period. Board of Police Commissioners Attorney Ray Kotarski 31 N. Green Street Jayson Marksberry Allan Bolante Brownsburg, IN 46112 Paul Whalen www.brownsburgpolice.org Brian Jessen Tim Cooper  BROWNSBURG METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT Joseph A. Grimes Office: (317) 852-1109 Chief of Police Fax: (317) 858-2023 -2- Chief Grimes updated the group on the status of the three sworn officer candidates. Chief said that INPRS has cleared two of the three applicants, the third should be acknowledged this week. Chie said they hope to start all three on Monday, March 28th. Orientation will begin on the 28th with the department as well as HR with the Town. The Clerk Treasurer will swear in the three candidates. Major Watts will inform the commissioners of the time. Chief updated the commissioners on the K9 program. Chief said that at the end of last year one of our K9s was retired and we were waiting on funding the purchase a replacement. Chief Grimes stated he is grateful for the donations we have received from the community and a grant from the Substance Abuse Task Force of Hendricks County. Chief said we are at a point now where we have sufficient funding and we are going to be purchasing a K9 in the next two to four weeks. OLD BUSINESS COMMISSION Nothing to report. NEW BUSINESS CHIEF OF POLICE Chief Grimes discussed the Law Enforcement Training Grant. Chief said that in the past meetings he has discussed legislation changes last year; agencies no longer receive local fund from gun permits. The funds from the permits were normally put into the continuing education fund for law enforcement training expenses. Chief Grimes said that there is still some funding this account for the future. The State and Federal have given us the opportunity to seek grant funding. Chief said he is pleased to announce that based upon the submission that Major Watts completed the department will receive approximately $25,000. The amount along with what we currently have in the line item should cover training expenses for the next two budget cycles. Chief Grimes said that we do not know if this is a one-time grant or if this will be available each year, it is all still new. Board of Police Commissioners Attorney Ray Kotarski 31 N. Green Street Jayson Marksberry Allan Bolante Brownsburg, IN 46112 Paul Whalen www.brownsburgpolice.org Brian Jessen Tim Cooper  BROWNSBURG METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT Joseph A. Grimes Office: (317) 852-1109 Chief of Police Fax: (317) 858-2023 -3- Chief Grimes discussed the Walmart Community Program Grant. Chief said that our local Walmart has the opportunity for local law enforcement to use grant funding. Chief said that we have used grant funding with Walmart in the past for community-based programs. Chief said that we determined there is a need to expand a current pilot program: License Plate Reader (LPR) system. Chief Grimes said that he has been in communications with Walmart to expand this program. Chief said that the department submitted for the grant and have been awarded $5000. Chief Grimes said this would pay for the expansion of the LPR program for the first year of a two-year contract. After discussions with Walmart, we will apply next year for the additional $5000 for the second year. Chief Grimes added that he is thankful for the partnership we have with Brownsburg Walmart. Chief said that on February 22nd Officers responded to a reported robbery at a business on Commerce Drive. Responding Officers were informed that a subject had assaulted employee and demanded money. Officers spoke with witnesses; they said an undisclosed amount of currency was taken. The subject fled and was unable to be located. Detectives are working on identifying the individual. Chief Grimes said there was another robbery that occurred at a local apartment complex. Chief added the offenders and victim are all juveniles, and their rights are protected. This originated as a sell of apparel. The victim was robbed of the items to be sold. Officers responded to the scene, the subjects fled. Personnel were able to identify all the individuals and they have all been charged. Chief discussed the recent burglary at a local pharmacy. Chief said that on February 26th Officers responded to a burglary after employees opened for business and discovered broken glass on the front door. Chief said an employee noticed cabinet missing prescription drugs/narcotics. Video surveillance was provided and detectives are following up on the case. Chief added this is a high priority case, as they do not want the narcotics on the streets of our community. Chief Grimes said that since our last commissioner meeting the department has had two additional vehicle pursuits. Chief said this was discussed last month, officers are seeing an increase in pursuits this year. Chief said officers attempted to stop a stolen vehicle in the area of Board of Police Commissioners Attorney Ray Kotarski 31 N. Green Street Jayson Marksberry Allan Bolante Brownsburg, IN 46112 Paul Whalen www.brownsburgpolice.org Brian Jessen Tim Cooper  BROWNSBURG METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT Joseph A. Grimes Office: (317) 852-1109 Chief of Police Fax: (317) 858-2023 -4- Connector Road and US 136. The driver of the vehicle fled the location. The fleeing vehicle became disabled after hitting a curb. The passenger was apprehended and the drive fled on foot. Officers pursued and were able to make apprehension without injury. Chief said that in this incident the suspects were again juveniles and non-Hendricks County residents. Our agency continues to see an increase in juvenile cases. The second pursuit occurred on March 3rd, officer again attempted to stop on a stolen vehicle. This was stolen outside of our jurisdiction. Chief said that the stop was attempted at I74 & North Green Street. The driver entered I74 east bound and conducted at U-turn and then travelled westbound on I74. Assisting officers were able to deploy tire deflation devices and were able to get the vehicle stopped safely. Chief said that a “high risk stop” was performed and an adult female was taken into custody. Chief Grimes added that both of the stolen vehicles incidents were the result of the use of technology tools, LPR, in our community. This pilot program has proven to be a valuable asset to our agency. High Visibility Enforcement, also known as HVE was first introduced to the Hendricks County Traffic Safety partnership by our law enforcement liaison, through Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI). ICJI asked agencies and partnerships to begin working HVE throughout the fiscal year in 2021. Officers working any CHIRP grant would work a small stretch of roadway stopping violators for speed, distracted, dangerous and impaired driving. Chief said these are reimbursement grants and gives the department an opportunity to work additional enforcement in our community beyond normal shifts and coverage. Chief Grimes discussed personnel career development. Chief said that as a staff they recognize the importance of providing an opportunity for experienced officers to grow as individuals. Chief said that professional and personnel growth is a key pillar of the department’s overall success. Chief said that recently we have been able provide more opportunities to officers to enhance their career. We have expanded and added to Specialties within the department. We will continue to evaluate and expand as the town grows. In April, the department will have ten field training slots; Officers Brinson, Stalnaker and Christian were selected for the FTO program based upon their performance, skills and abilities as First Class Officers. All three will attend the FTO training program in late March. The fourth K9 Handler will be Officer Heather Foote. Officer Foote has a passion for K9 unit and began preparing for this assignment on her own personal time. Chief said the funding is in place to purchase the new dog and the current K9 Board of Police Commissioners Attorney Ray Kotarski 31 N. Green Street Jayson Marksberry Allan Bolante Brownsburg, IN 46112 Paul Whalen www.brownsburgpolice.org Brian Jessen Tim Cooper  BROWNSBURG METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT Joseph A. Grimes Office: (317) 852-1109 Chief of Police Fax: (317) 858-2023 -5- handlers in the unit will begin evaluating dogs to purchase. Training is scheduled to take place in April. Bike Officer, Officer Dimitry Kalyuzhny has been selected as the newest member of the Bike Unit. Officer Kalyuzhny has had prior certification as a Bicycle Officer prior to coming to our department. Tactical Shift- Corporal John Maples and Officer Dirk Fentz are assigned to a Tactical Shift within the Enforcement Division. Both have spent many years in highway interdiction, the United Drug Task Force, and the BNU. Traffic Unit – Due to the increase in crash reports, traffic and traffic complaints, we will be adding a fourth Traffic Officer. Officer Dan Rooker, who supervises the Traffic Unit, and Captain Klayer have kept track of the data supporting the need for an additional officer. The candidate will have the opportunity for certification to operate one of the current fleet motorcycles. We only have three; this officer will remain in an assigned police commission. The candidate will work on reconstruction certification as well. Chief Grimes said the department needs more Certified Instructors based on current retirements. A process was conducted for Instructor Development and then pursue a special instructor. The following officers have been selected; Sgt. Abshire, Officer Rooker, Officer Crosby and Officer Mlagan. Brownsburg Narcotics Unit – Sgt. Pyatt posted a notice to those interested in filling the vacancies in his unit. Chief said that he anticipates filling one of the positions for now. The full process has not started. Community Relations Officer – Sgt. Pete Fleck will be retiring in 2023 we have begun the process of looking for interested candidates to fulfill the position. Officer Elsiana Crosby has made her own commitment to learn the job. Officer Crosby will continue to work her shift as she takes on the opportunity to learn the position as a Community Relations Officer. NEW BUSINESS COMMISSION Ray Kotarski requested a motion to approve policy 01.05.01 Community Relations and Crime Prevention. Ray Kotarski read over the revisions and changes within the policy. Allan Bolante requested an amendment. It was agreed to fix a grammar and date error. Allan Bolante made a motion to approve the amended policy as presented. Tim Cooper seconded the motion. Paul Whalen abstained from the vote. Motion carried 3-0. Ray Kotarski requested a motion to approve policy 06.09.01 Mentally Ill Persons. Tim Cooper made a motion to approve the policy as presented. Allan Bolante seconded the motion. Paul Whalen abstained from the vote. Motion carried 3-0. Board of Police Commissioners Attorney Ray Kotarski 31 N. Green Street Jayson Marksberry Allan Bolante Brownsburg, IN 46112 Paul Whalen www.brownsburgpolice.org Brian Jessen Tim Cooper  BROWNSBURG METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT Joseph A. Grimes Office: (317) 852-1109 Chief of Police Fax: (317) 858-2023 -6- Ray Kotarski requested a motion to approve policy 02.04.01 Employee and Confidential Records. Allan Bolante made a motion to approve the policy as presented. Tim Cooper seconded the motion. Paul Whalen abstained from the vote. Motion carried 3-0. Ray Kotarski requested a motion to approve policy 02.28.01 Limits of Authority. Tim Cooper made a motion to approve the policy as presented. Allan Bolante seconded the motion. Paul Whalen abstained from the vote. Motion carried 3-0. DIVISION REPORTS & MONTHLY STATS Commissioners discussed the reports. MISCELLANEOUS CORRESPONDENCE Tim Cooper read an email from Speedway Police Chief Chuck Upchurch thanking Officer David Shedrow for assisting his officers with his K9. Speedway PD had a stolen vehicle suspect who fled and crashed the stolen vehicle. Officer Shedrow and K9 Drago were instrumental in apprehending the suspect. ATTORNEY Nothing to report. FLOOR No comments. Board of Police Commissioners Attorney Ray Kotarski 31 N. Green Street Jayson Marksberry Allan Bolante Brownsburg, IN 46112 Paul Whalen www.brownsburgpolice.org Brian Jessen Tim Cooper  BROWNSBURG METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT Joseph A. Grimes Office: (317) 852-1109 Chief of Police Fax: (317) 858-2023 -7- ADJOURNMENT Ray Kotarski asked for a motion to adjourn. Paul Whalen made a motion to adjourn. Tim Cooper seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 7:13PM. THESE MINUTES SO APPROVED THIS 12TH DAY OF APRIL 2022. ___________________________ Ray Kotarski, President ___________________________ Paul Whalen, Vice President ___________________________ Allan Bolante, Commissioner ___________________________ Brian Jessen, Commissioner ___________________________ Tim Cooper, Commissioner ATTESTED: _____________________________ Kellie Cummins, Secretary Board of Police Commissioners Attorney Ray Kotarski 31 N. Green Street Jayson Marksberry Allan Bolante Brownsburg, IN 46112 Paul Whalen www.brownsburgpolice.org Brian Jessen Tim Cooper